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TRANSACTIONS

THE GAELIC SOCIETY OF INVERNESS,

VOLUME XVI.
1889-90.

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TRANSACTIONS

OF

THE GAELIC SOCIETY OF INVERNESS.

VOLUME XVI.
1889-90.

TRANSACTIONS

GAELIC SOCIETY

OF INVERNESS.

VOLUME XVI.

1889-90.

(Elann nan (iaibheal an <£tratU*an a (Elmh.

PRINTED FOR THE GAELIC SOCIETY OF INVERNESS,
AT THE "NORTHERN CHRONICLE" OFFICE;

AND SOLD BY JOHN NOBLE, WILLIAM MACKAY, AND A. & W. MACKENZIE,
BOOKSELLERS, INVERNESS.

1891.

IhOI

GAELIC SOCIETY OF INVERNESS.

OFFICE-BEARERS FOR 1889 OFFICE-BEARERS FOR 1890

CHIEF.

Sir Henry C. Macandrew.

CHIEFTAINS.

Rev. Thomas Sinton.
Bailie Alex. Mackenzie.
William Gunn.

HON. SECRETARY.

William Mackay, Solicitor.

SECRETARY AND TREASURER.

Duncan Mackintosh, Bank of
Scotland.

MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.

Alex. Macbain, M.A.
Duncan Campbell.
Bailie Charles Mackay.
John Macdonald.
Donald Fraser of Millburn.

LIBRARIAN.

William Fraser.

PIPER.
Pipe-Major Alex. Maclennan.

BARD.
Mrs Mary Mackellar.

CHIEF.

Ian Murray Grant of Glen-
moriston.

CHIEFTAINS.

Bailie Alex. Mackenzie.
Roderick Maclean.
Provost Ross.

HON. SECRETARY.

William Mackay, Solicitor.

SECRETARY AND TREASURER.

Duncan Mackintosh, Bank of
Scotland.

MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.

Alex. Macbain, M.A.
John Macdonald.
William Gunn.
D. H. Chisholm.
H. V. Maccallum.

LIBRARIAN.

William Fraser.

PIPER,
Pipe-Major Ronald Mackenzie.

BARD.
Mrs Mary Mackellar.

COMUNN GAELIC INBHIR-MS.

CO-SHUIDHBACHADH.

1. 'S e ainm a' Chomuinn " COMUNN GAILIG INBHIR-NIS."

2. 'S e tha an run a' Chomuinn : — Na buill a dheanamh
iomlan 's a' Ghailig ; cinneas Canaine, Bardachd agus Ciuil na
Gaidhealtachd ; Bardachd, Seanachas, Sgeulachd, Leabhraichean
agus Sgriobhanna 's a' chanain sin a thearnadh o dhearmad ;
Leabhar-lann a chur suas ami am baile Tnbhir-Nis de leabhraichibh
agus sgriobhannaibh — ann an canain sam bith — a bhuineas do
Chaileachd, lonnsachadh, Eachdraidheachd agus Sheanachasaibh
nan Gaidheal no do thairbhe na Gaidhealtachd ; c6ir agus cliunan
Gaidheal a dhion ; agus na Gaidheil a shoirbheachadh a ghna ge
b'e ait' am bi iad.

3. 'S iad a bhitheas 'nam buill, cuideachd a tha gabhail suim
do runtaibh a' Chomuinn ; a-^us so mar gheibh iad a staigh : —
Tairgidh aon bhall an t-iarradair, daingnichidh ball eile an tairgse,
agus, aig an ath choinneimh, ma roghnaicheas a' mhor-chuid le
crannchur, nithear ball dhith-se no dheth-san cho luath 's a
phaidhear an comh-thoirt; cuirear crainn le ponair dhubh agus
gheal, ach, gu so bhi dligheach, feumadh tri buill dheug an crann
a chur. Feudaidh an Comunn Urram Cheannardan a thoirt do
urrad 'us seachd daoine cliuiteach.

4. Paidhidh Ball Urramach, 'sa' bhl'iadhna . £0 10 6
Ball Cumanta <v: . . • . . 050

Foghlainte 010

Agus ni Ball-beatha aon chomh-thoirt de . 770

5. 'S a' cheud-mhios, gach bliadhna, roghnaichear, le crainn,
Co-chomhairle a riaghlas gnothuichean a' Chomuinn, 's e sin — aon

GAELIC SOCIETY OF INVERNESS.

CONSTITUTION.

1. The Society shall be called the " GAELIC SOCIETY OF
INVERNESS."

2. The objects of the Society are the perfecting of the Mem-
bers in the use of the Gaelic language ; the cultivation of the
language, poetry, and music of the Scottish Highlands ; the res-
cuing from oblivion of Celtic Poetry, traditions, legends, books,
and manuscripts ; the establishing in Inverness of a library, to
consist of books and manuscripts, in whatever language, bearing
upon the genius, the literature, the history, the antiquities, and
the material interests of the Highlands and Highland people ; the
vindication of the rights and character of the Gaelic people ; and,
generally, the furtherance of their interests whether at home or
abroad.

3. The Society shall consist of persons who take a lively in-
terest in its objects. Admission to be as follows : — The candidate
shall be proposed by one member, seconded by another, balloted
for at the next meeting, and, if he or she have a majority of votes
and have paid the subscription, be declared a member. The ballot
shall be taken with black beans and white ; and no election shall
be valid unless thirteen members vote. The Society has power to
elect distinguished men as Honorary Chieftains to the number of
seven.

4. The Annual Subscription shall be, for —

Honorary Members ..... £0 10 6

Ordinary Members . . . . .050

Apprentices . . . . . .010

A Life Member shall make one payment of . 770

5. The management of the affairs of the Society shall be en
trusted to a Council, chosen annually, by ballot, in the month of

viii. CO-SHUIDHEACHADH.

Cheann, tri lar-chinn, Cleireach Urramach, Runaire, Tonmhasair,
agus coig buill eile — feumaidh iad uile Gailig a thuigsinn 's a
bhruidhinn ; agus ni coigear dhiubji coinneamh.

6. Cumar coinneamhan a' Chomuinn gach seachduin o thois-
each an Deicheamh mios gu deireadh Mhairt, agus gach ceithir-
la-deug o thoiseach Ghiblein gu deireadh an Naothamh-mios. 'S
i a' Ghailig a labhrar gach oidhche mu'n seach aig a' chuid a's
lugha.

7. Cuiridh a' Cho-chomhairle la air leth amis an t-Seachdamh-
mios air-son Coinneamh Bhliadhnail aig an cumar Co-dheuchainn
agus air an toirear duaisean air-son Piobaireachd 'us ciuil Ghaidh-
ealach eile ; amis an fheasgar bithidh co-dheuchainn air Leughadh
agus aithris Bardachd agus Rosg nuadh agus taghta ; an deigh sin
cumar Cuirm chuidheachdail aig am faigh nithe Gaidhealach rogh-
ainn 'san uirghioll, ach gun roinn a dhiultadh dhaibh-san nach tuig
Gailig. Giulainear cosdas na co-dheuchainne le trusadh sonraichte
a dheannamh agus cuideachadh iarraidh o 'n t-sluagh.

8. Cha deanar atharrachadh sam bith air coimh-dhealbhadh
a' Chomuinn gun aontachadh dha thrian de na'm bheil de luchd-
bruidhinn Gailig air a' chlar-ainm. Ma 's miann atharrachadh a
dheanamh is eiginn sin a chur an ceill do gach ball, mios, aig a*
chuid a's lugha, roimh'n choinneimh a dh'fheudas an t-atharrachadh
a dheanamh Feudaidh ball nach bi a lathair roghnachadh le
lamh-aithiie.

9. Taghaidh an Comunn Bard, Piobaire, agus Fear-leabhar-
lann.

Ullaichear gach Paipear agus Leughadh, agus giulainear gach
Deasboireachd le run fosgailte, duineil, durachdach air-son na
firinn, agus cuirear gach ni air aghaidh ann an spiorad caomh, glan,
agus a reir riaghailtean dearbhta.

CONSTITUTION. IX.

January, to consist of a Chief, three Chieftains, an Honorary
Secretary, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and five other Members of the
Society, all of whom shall understand and speak Gaelic ; five to
form a quorum.

6. The Society shall hold its meetings weekly from the
beginning of October to the end of March, and fortnightly from
the beginning of April to the end of September. The business
shall be carried on in Gaelic on every alternate night at least.

7. There shall be an Annual Meeting in the month of July,
the day to be named by the Committee for the time being, when
Competitions for Prizes shall take place in Pipe and other High-
land Music. In the evening there shall be Competitions in Read-
ing and Reciting Gaelic Poetry and Prose, both original and select.
After which there will be a Social Meeting, at which Gaelic sub-
jects shall have the preference, but not to such an extent as
entirely to preclude participation by persons who do not under-
stand Gaelic. The expenses of the competitions shall be defrayed
out of a special fund, to which the general public shall be invited
to subscribe.

8. It is a fundamental rule of the Society that no part of the
Constitution shall be altered without the assent of two-thirds of
the Gaelic-speaking Members on the roll ; but if any alterations
be required, due notice of the same must be given to each member,
at least one month before the meeting takes place at which the
alteration is proposed to be made. Absent Members may vote by
mandates.

9. The Society shall elect a Bard, a Piper, and a Librarian.

All Papers and Lectures shall be prepared, and all Discussions,
carried on, with an honest, earnest, and manful desire for truth ;
and all proceedings shall be conducted in a pure and gentle spirit,
and according to the usually recognised rules.

INTRODUCTION.

IT is exactly a year ago that our 15th Volume was placed in the
hands of our members, and the Publishing Committee have much
pleasure in issuing this, the 16th Volume, at anyrate as early as
any of its predecessors. It was expected to be finished at the
beginning, rather than at the end, of the winter session of this
year, but the usual causes of delay proved too strong. This
Volume contains the record of the Society's proceedings for
exactly one year, from the Annual Assembly held on the llth of
July, 1889, to the last literary meeting of the Society for the
winter of 1890, namely, the 7th of May. The Volume will, it is
hoped, be found to be equal to any of the preceding ones in variety
of subjects and quality of work.

Still another of our Gaelic literary stars sunk to rest ! Mrs
Mary Mackellar, the bard of the Societ}r, died in Edinburgh on
the 7th of September of last year, at the comparatively early age
of fifty-five. She had been ailing for some time : a cold in the
winter of 1890 had not been shaken off, and this, aggravated by
heart disease, finally brought the poetess to her grave. Mrs
Mackellar's body was laid in the churchyard of Kilmallie, among
her own native hills, and in the land of the Clan Cameron, to
whom she belonged, and whom she loved so well. Mary Cameron
— the Mary Mackellar that was to be — was born at Fort- William,
on the 1st October, 1834. Her father was a baker there, but
Mary's younger days were spent at Corrybeg with her grand-
parents, and here she imbibed the lore of her country, and laid
the foundation of that wealthy store of tradition which she
possessed. She married early a John Mackellar, who was captain
and joint owner of a coasting vessel, and with him she visited
many places throughout Europe. Finally, she settled in Edin-

xii. INTRODUCTION.

burgh from all sea-wanderings in 1876, where she had her
principal abode till her death. The last ten years of her life was
clouded by domestic sorrow, husband and wife parting by
"judicial separation;" and Mrs Mackellar had to make her living
and fight the battle of life alone. She was a brilliant conver.
sationalist in both languages, but her writings scarcely do justice
to her powers and wealth of lore. Mrs Mackellar was a
woman of warm heart, high spirit, and fine intellect.
Her poems, Gaelic and English, were published in 1880,
and she wrote much poetry for periodicals and newspapers
since then. Much of her prose and her lore has appeared
in the volumes of this Society, and this one contains her
last contribution, which is incomplete owing to the death of the
authoress. She also wrote some fiction for the weekly press,
notably the " White Rose of Callart ; " she composed a book of
Gaelic phrases, and described her native Lochaber in her guide to
Fort- William. She also translated the Queen's latest volume into
excellent Gaelic. It is hoped that the Clan Cameron Society will
collect and publish her works in a complete and handy form.

A good deal has been done since May of last year in the way
of publication of works connected with Gaelic and the Highlands.
A new edition of Paterson's Gaelic Bards has been published by
Mr Sinclair, Glasgow. He also publishes the poetical works of Mr
John Macfadyen, a new star in the poetic firmament, whose work
— and an excellent work it is — is entitled An t-Eileanach. As we
write there is issued from the press the collected works of another
bard, those of the Skye poetess, Mrs Mary Macpherson. Besides
being racy poetry, full of the love of scenery and natural beauty
characteristic of the Celtic bard, Mrs Macpherson's work is a well
of Gaelic undefiled, which is none the worse of being very carefully
edited. Mr Sinclair, ex-M.P. for the Ayr burghs, has published a
racy work on the " Scenes and Stories of the North of Scotland,"
and Mr Alexander Mackenzie has added another to his popular
works on the Highland clans, this one being the History of the
Chisholms, which has been very favourably received by the clan
and by the public. Dr Mackintosh, of Aberdeen, has written

INTRODUCTION.

Scotland for the ;' Story of the Nation " series. Much activity is
displayed in periodicals and newspapers. The Highland Monthly
is doing good work in all departments of Gaelic and Highland
literature ; and the northern papers contain much Gaelic matter,
including history, antiquities, and poetry. Even the People's
Friend has opened its columns for Highland song, and " Fionn "
is contributing an interesting series of articles to that periodical
on the songs of the Gael.

In general Celtic literature, the progress has also been
good. Moore's Place Names of Man deserve a position equal to
any of Dr Joyce's volumes, which means high praise. In Ireland
matters arc going well. Dr Atkinson's edition of Keatings' Three
Shifts of Death is an excellent work with a valuable vocabulary.
Dr Douglas Hyde has published some dozen Irish folk-tales under
the heading of Fireside Tales (Nutt), and their bearing on Gaelic
tales is fully explained. Dr Whitley Stokes is still pursuing his
studies in Celtic philology, and besides an edition of the Lives of
the Saints in the Book of Lismore, he has lately issued a brochure,
included in the Philological Society's Transactions, dealing with
the Irish Annals, where he discusses the Pictish Question, and
gives a valuable vocabulary of Pictish words. It is probably the
most important contribution yet made to the subject. He views
the Picts as Celts belonging to the Cymric branch. Gaelic
philology is fully and excellently represented in Brugrnann's great
" Grammar of the Indo-European Languages" now in course of
publication. Professor Rhys has issued from the Clarendon Press
a learned and suggestive work entitled Studies in the Arthurian
Legend, which ought to be of interest to all Gaels, especially at a
time like this, when Professor Zimmer is doing his best to prove
that Fionn and his Feinne were merely Norsemen masquerading
as Gaels ! This new piece of German perversity is argued in a
work of close on two hundred pages, which was noticed in the
Academy of last February the 14th by Mr Nutt, and there given
in a condensed form.

The Highlands have benefited much by the remission of fees,
for it means money found, the fees being formerly nominal as a

Xiv. INTRODUCTION.

rule. The relaxations in the New Code cannot also fail to be
beneficial. The scheme whereby the old S.P.C.K. funds have
come under the control of a " Trust for Education in the High-
lands" came into operation last November. The new Governors
number nineteen, and are appointed by the two Churches, the
Colleges, the northern School Boards, and the old directors of the
S.P.C.K., each having nearly an equal number. The money is to
be mostly devoted to encouraging central schools, but a sum con-
siderably over £1000 annually will be available for bursaries.

The North has been all agog during the last twelve months
with schemes and rumours of schemes for harbour and railway
developments. The practical result has been that something like
,£50,000 of public money is to be expended on harbours and roads
mostly on the West Coast, and especially in the Lews. Nothing
definite has been arrived at in regard to the rival railways pro-
posed, whether to Ullapool or Aultbea.

The Mackintosh's offer of a £10 prize for the best essay on the
"Social Condition of the Highlands since 1800" brought the
minimum number of essays requisite for a competition, that is to
say, three essays only were sent in ! These will be adjudicated
on soon, and the result will be announced at the forthcoming
Annual Assembly.

INVERNESS, May, 1891.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Office-bearers for 1889 and 1890 v.

Constitution ......... vL

Introduction ......... xi.

Seventeenth Annual Assembly ...... 1

Church and Education in the Highlands — Rev. Dr Masson,

Edinburgh ........ 8

Celts and Teutons — Rev. J. Macgregor 27

Sutherland Place Names — Durness and Eddrachilis — with

Traditional Notes— Mr John Mackay, J.P. . . 39

Unpublished Literary Remains of the Reay Country — Rev.

Adam Gunn, Durness ...... 59

Eighteenth Annual Dinner — Speeches by Sir Henry C.

Macandrew, The Mackintosh of Mackintosh, Captain

Malcolm, Mr James Barren, Mr Alex. Macbain, M.A.,

Mr Alex. Mackenzie, Provost Ross, Mr A. C. Mackenzie,

Mr Allan Macdonald, &c. ...... 70

Minor Highland Families — No. 3. The Macdonells of Scotos

—Mr Charles Eraser-Mackintosh, M.P. ... 79
Unpublished Old Gaelic Songs, with Historical Notes and

Traditions — Rev. John M'Rury .... 98

Na Amhuisgean : The Dwarfs or Pigmies — Rev. Mr Campbell 111
Some Letters from the pen of Ewen Maclachlan, Old

Aberdeen — Rev. John Sinclair, B.D. . . . .122
Badenoch : Its History, Clans, and Place Names — Mr Alex.

Macbain, M.A 148

How the Macleods lost Assynt — Mr Wrn. Mackay, solicitor 197

Xvi. CONTENTS.

PAGE.

Selections from the MSS. of late Captain Lachlan Macpher-
son, Biallid, embracing the Macniven's Cave or old
Cave of Raitts in Badenoch, and other Papers — Mr
Alexander Macpherson . . . . . . 207

The Picts— Mr Hector Maclean ./, ' . . . .228

Hebridean Singers and their Songs. Second paper — Rev.

Archibald Macdonald . . . "' . . .253
Legends and Traditions of Lochaber — Mrs Mary Mackellar 267
An interesting Copy of a Report of the Trial of James
Stewart of Acharn — Mr J. R. N. Macphail, M.A.,
advocate . . . ^ . . . .276

Old Gaelic MSS., with Notes — Professor Mackinnon . . 285

Honorary Chieftains . 311

Life Members . . >J . . . . . 311

Honorary Members ... . . . . . 312

Ordinary Members . . .... . . 313

Deceased Members . . 320

List of Books in the Society's Library . . . .321

TRANSACTIONS.

ANNUAL ASSEMBLY.

THE Seventeenth Annual Assembly of the Society was held in the
Music Hall, on Thursday evening, llth July, 1889. There was a
crowded and fashionable attendance, and the gathering was one of
the most successful ever held under the auspices of the Society.
The platform as usual presented a background of Highland
weapons and armour, relieved by shrubs, heather, and tartans, amid
which might here and there be seen stags' heads, and wild birds
and animals ; the whole harmonising into an exceedingly tasteful
and appropriate picture.

Sir Henry C. Macandre\v, Provost of Inverness and Chief of the
Society, presided ; and he was supported on the platform by Major
Rose of Kilravock ; Mr Reginald Macleod of Dun vegan ; Colonel
W. Gostwyck Gard, late 91st Highlanders; Captain Chisholm of
Glassburn ; Colonel Hector Mackenzie, Inverness ; Rev. Father
Bisset, Fort-Augustus ; Rev. Mr Campbell, Glen-Urquhart ; Rev. Mr
Sinton, Dores ; Rev. Mr Macdonald, Daviot : Rev. Mr Maclennan,
Laggan ; Mr D. Fraser of Millburn ; Lieutenant Colonel Alex.
Macdonald, I.H.RV., Portree ; Mr Kennard, Tormore ; Mr James
Fraser, Mauld ; Mr Alex. Macpherson, banker, Kingussie ; Mr D.
Cameron, Moiiiack Castle ; Mr A. Macbain, M.A., Raining's School;
Mr Alex. Mackenzie, of the Scottish Highlander ; Bailie Stuart,
Inverness ; Bailie Mackenzie, Silverwells ; Mr Colin Chisholm,
Namur Cottage ; Mr R. Maclean, factor for Ardross ; ex-Bailie
Mackay ; Mr H. V. Maccallum, Inverness ; Mr Duncan Mackintosh,
Secretary of the Society ; and others.

While the company were assembling, Pipe-Major Ronald Mac-
kenzie, of the 3rd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders, played a
selection of Highland airs in the entrance lobby.

1

2 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Shortly after eight o'clock the proceedings commenced by Mr
Mackintosh, the Secretary, intimating apologies for absence from
the following gentlemen : — The Mackintosh of Mackintosh ; Mr
Duncan Forbes of Culloden ; Mr Lachlan Macdonald of Skaebost ;
Mr B. B. Finlay, M.P.; Mr C. Eraser-Mackintosh, M.P.; Mr R. C.
Ferguson of Novar, M.P.; Mr Chas. Innes, solicitor ; Rev. A. D.
Mackenzie, Kilmorack ; Mr Wm. Mackenzie, Crofters Commission ;
Mr A. D. Campbell of Kilmartin ; and others.

The Chief, who was cordially received, said he was very glad
to be in his present position once again, and to open the seven-
teenth annual Assembly of the Gaelic Society of Inverness.
He was glad to state that the Society was in a nourish-
ing condition, active in the departments which the Society
had set up for itself as the sphere of its work, and he was now in
presence of an assembly which was quite as brilliant as
any that had preceded it. They would see that each year the
interest taken in their meeting increased ; the attractiveness of
the programme kept pace with the interest taken in it, and he
thought the managers of the Society had produced as interesting
a programme for their entertainment as they could possibly
have wished. As they were aware, the objects of the
Society were to keep up the interest in the past history of their
country, and the particular district of the country which was long
peculiar and was to some extent yet peculiar, and which they
looked back upon with so much pride. Last year it was
announced that The Mackintosh of Mackintosh, who, unfortun-
ately, was not able to be there that night — he believed very much
owing to the continued illness of his wife — offered a prize of 10
guineas for an essay on the social history of the Highlands. That
was a subject which peculiarly and particularly interested and
occupied the attention of the Society. He regretted to say that
in competition for the prize only one essay had been received.
He believed the essay was worthy of the subject and well worthy
of the prize that had been offered. He regretted, however, that
more competitors had not come forward to offer contributions.
Probably it was from the characteristic modesty of the Highlander
— (laughter) — and that each man who might have wished to throw
some light on the subject, thought that somebody else was more
able to do so. He had no doubt the contents of the essay would
be given to them by-and-bye in some shape or other. The subject
was full of interest to all who loved their country, and who
loved to look on what they grew from, and what they had
come to. It was a subject which he had always taken a very

Annual Assembly. 3

peculiar interest in, and he felt that the more one read of what their
ancestors were, the more one was inclined to be proud of belonging
to the race. There was something connected with the simplicity
and" nobility of their manners, which could not fail to impress
them. He had been lately interesting himself in a book which he
had only heard of within a few weeks, although he was a some-
what diligent reader of catalogues for books containing anything
relating to the past history of the Highlands. It was the journal
of a man who was the pioneer of one of the influences which had
more than any other tended to modify the state of the Highlands.
It was the journal of Colonel Thornton, who came in 1784 to the
district of Strathspey for the purpose of enjoying the scenery and
sport. He fancied he was the first who came into the Highlands
for this purpose. As he (Sir Henry) happened, while reading the
book, to be living in the district in which Colonel Thornton had
settled himself for the time, he had read the book with extreme
interest. He was surprised to find that, being, as he was, a man
living in the most fashionable society in London — moving in the
very highest circles, for on his visit to Scotland he visited half-a-
dozen ducal castles, and was on terms of intimacy with the great
men of the country — he associated with the ordinary inhabitants
of the district, and there was not a single remark to indicate that
he felt himself associating with people who were not entirely his
social equals. Alluding to the conditions of life in the Highlands,
he points out what they would hardly have expected, that the
climate was particularly agreeable and genial ; and that the High-
land proprietor or Highland farmer had within the compass of his
own domain everything that life required for its full enjoyment.
As he had said, the main and most interesting part of the book
was the silent and full acknowledgment of the courteous manners
and high social and intellectual condition in which the farmers and
the resident proprietors in Strathspey lived at that time. The
book was also peculiarly interesting, because Col. Thornton came
in contact with people who had been out in the Rebellion, and he
was at the entertainment given by the Clan Macpherson on tho
restoration of the forfeited estates. In his concluding remarks, Sir
Henry said he was glad to tell them that, in all the departments to
which it had directed its attention, the Gaelic Society of Inverness
had been diligent, and from the last volume of the Transactions
and from the coming volumes, which they would see year after
year, he had no doubt that in them a very valuable record of the
history of the country would be preserved, and that the Society
would leave its mark in that department of archaeology and history
to which it had devoted itself — (applause).

4 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

The Rev. Father Bisset, who was received with hearty cheers,
delivered the following Gaelic address : — Fhir na Cathrach,
mhnathan-uaisle, 'sa dhaoine-uaisle gu leir — Tha e na chleachdadh,
aig gach Comunn Gailig, aig co-chruinneachadh mar so, beagaii
bhriathran a labhairt aim an cainnt a Ghaidheil fhein. Tha 'n
cleachdadh so ri mholadh gu mor, 's bu mhor an t-aobhar uaire e
mur bitheadh e air a churnail suas. Chur luchd-riaghlaidh a cho-
chruinneachadh mhoir eireachdail, thoilichte so, inhor chomain
ormsa, gun do chuir iad mu 'm choinneamh beagan bhriathran a
labhairt nar lathair a nochd. Cha bu luaithe dh'aointich mi ri
so dheanamh na ghabh mi 'n t-aithreachas, agus tha 'n t-aithreachas
sin orm fhathast, agus innsidh mi dhiubh carson. Tha mi duilich
bhi togail an uine ghoirid luachmhor a tha air a cuir a mach airson
na Gailig a nochd, le na briathran tioram neobhlasda a bheir mise
dhuibh an aite an oraidbhlasda,thorach, shomalta sin a gheibheadh
sibh bho fhichead fear eile dheth 'n chomunn so, d'fhaodadh bhi 'n.
am aite-sa nochd. A.ch mu 's e bhur toil e foighidinn bheag bhi
agaibh, agus eisdeachd thoir dhomh, cuiridh mi uine bheag seachad
a toir dhiubhsa, a Ghaidheil ghleusda ghasda, brosnachadh beag bhi
fhathast, a bhith-ghabhas e, ni's Gaidhealiche agus ni's gaoliche
air a Ghailig, agus air gach cleachdadh Gaidhealach a chumail suas.
Cha bu luaithe chaidh 'n comunn so chuir air bonn, 5sa chaidh
" Comunn Gailig Inbhirnis " thoir mar ainm air, na chaidh chuir
an geill gu'n robh e'n run a chomuinn gach urra bhiubh dheanamh
iomlan 'sa Ghailig — bardachd, ceol, seanachas, sgeulachd, leabh-
richean, agus sgriobhannaibh 'sa Ghailig a thearnadh o dhearmad,
coir is cliu nan. Gaidheal a dhion, agus na Gaidheil a
shoirbheachadh a ghna ge b'e ait am bi iad. Tha 'n seann-f hacal
ag rath gun cuidich am Freasdal iadsa chuidicheas iad fhein ; ach
cha 'n 'eil teagarnh nach d'thug Comunn Gailig Inbhirnis misneachd
'us cuideachadh do dh'iomadh Gaidheil og gu e fhein adhartachadh
'B a thogail 's an t-saoghal. Tha obair luachmhor 'ga deanamh
gach latha, air chul na chaidh dheanamh cheana, le coimpirean a
Chomuinn so, sgaoileadh eolas air gnothuichean Gaidhleach 's a
gleidheadh bardachd, sgeulachd, 'us scriobhannaibh Gailig 's na
Gaidheal tachd o' dhol air di chuimhne. Ach tha eagal orm gu'm
beil moran fhathast ri dheanamh gus a chuid sin do run a Chomuinn
a chuir an gniomh, tha sireadh gach aon de'n chomunn dheanamh
iomlan 'sa Ghailig. Far am beil an toil bithidh 'n gniomh, ach
cha 'n 'eil an toil aig moran dheth na Gaidheal fhein suim a
ghabhail dheth 'n Ghailig leis a bheachd amaideach nach 'eil e gu
buanachd a cumail suas, nach 'eil i uasal ni's leoir, gu'm beil i gu
luath a dol as, 's nach fhada bhitheas feum idir dhi. Tha cuid an.

Annual Assemblj. •">

iuil mar bhi' a' Ghailig gum bidheadh an fortan <Uas. Tha e
riatanach mar tha cuisoan a dol gum bidheadh eolas againn air
Benrla, gu na cuid thoir a comuith. Ach na leigimid air
di-cliiiimhnc gur i Ghailig cainnt nan gaisgeach, cainnt nan trenn-
fhcar, gleii.sda, gasda, choisinn cliu 's gach buaidh. Do'n Ghaicl-
hcal, le thrcuntas, le thur nadur, le chend'an cuirp 'us anma, 's Ic
gach buaidh tha fuaighte ris, bunaidh a dheadh chor aim am
morachd 's an soirbheachadh na rioghachd so. Ach gun eolas air
a Ghailig, tha 'n Gaidheal mar dhuine fo chioram — mar dhuine
calma air leth laimh, no air leth shuil. Shaoil le Fearchar a
Ghunnu, gur e tiodhlacadh au fhear mhilleadh bha 'nn 'sa chiad
sealladh fhuar e dhcth 'n cach-iarruinn, 's a shreath charbadan as a
dheigh, a gabhail scachad am Blur-dubh. Ach shaoil le daoiue bu
ghlice na Fearchar bochd, 'nuair thainig an rathad iaruinn thar
Dmim-Uachdar, 's a ghabh e gu tuath gu ceann shuas Ghallabh,
gu'n robh uair dheire.innach an Gailig air tighinn. Ach tha
Ghailig beo slan fallain fhathast ged tha i aois nihor. Ach a nis
'nuair tha 'n t-each iaruinn, i'aodar a1 rath, a sitrich an Inbhirloch-
aidh, 'nuair tha mninntir Arasaig a cuir seol air co an taobh dhiubli
air an gabh e seachad, 's iad fhathast an teagamh co-dhiu bhitheas
a cheann-uidhe aig bonn Roisbheinn no air cladach Mhalaig ; 'nuair
tha Gearrloch 's Lochbraoin a stri co acn. bheir stabull dha, 's an
nuair tha dull aig muinntir an Eilean Sgiathanaich agus Leodhais,
ri gearran beag cruaidh do dh' each-iaruinn dhaibh fhein, feu mar
aideachadh o;u'm bheil coir air suil a chumail a Ghailig 'sa h-iarrtas
eiridiun. An dean sibh Gaidheal clhe'n dubh Ghall le boinead
"biorach a chuir air a cheann, breacan feile bhar a ghuaillc, feile-beag
suainte mu chruachanan cruaidhe cnamhach, osain 'us cuaran mu
chalpanan speilgeach 'I Cha bhitheadh e ach seang. Cha mho na
sin a ni Gaidheal Sasunnach dheth fhein, le pheirceallean a chuir
ach beag as a cheile, 's a theanga a cumadh a stri ri fhacail
tharruinn caol, 'ur Beurla nasal a labhairt ! Air chul mata leis an
aithris bhochd so, 's le faoineachd cho leibideach. An aite naire
bhi oirnn a canain 'us cleachdanan nan Gaidheal, gabhamaid uaill
asda, agus gabhamaid 'h-uile cothrom, air an curnail suas, 's air
an sineadh sios dhaibh-san thig as ar deigh. Tha e robh thait-
neach ri innse gu bheil uaislean Gaidhealach 'us luchd-foghlum a
gabhail suim dhe'n Ghailig, 's a cuir seol air nach bi an sliochd
air an togail suas gun eolas aca air a chanain, bhlasda, aclh-mhor
a bh'aig Adhamh 'us Eubha. Agus na'n gabhadh ceannach air a
bhuaidh, 's lionar fear nach caomhainneadh, storas air ghaoil 's gun
tuigeadh 's gu'm bruidneadh e Gailig cho deas ri na paistean,
ceannruisde, casruisde, tha ris a bhuachailleachd cuir thoimh-

G Gaelic Society of Inverness.

seachan air each a cheile 's a stri co is luaithe their na briathran
toinnte so, "Cha robh laogh ruadh, luath riamh." Suas, mata,
leis a Ghailig, agus mar bhuill dhileas dhe'n Chomunn so deana-
maid coir 'us cliu a Ghaidheal a dhion, le ur deadh ghiulaii
oirnn fheinn mar Ghaidheil u cuimhneachadh ann am briathran a
Bhaird—

" Fhad's 'sa bhitheas grian amis na speuraibh,
No gealach a'g eirigh 's an oidhche,
No gaoth a se. deadh 's na h-airdibh,
Bithidh cliu nan Gaidheal air chuimhne."

In the intervals between the speeches and the close of the
proceedings an interesting programme of Gaelic and English songs
and Highland dances and music was gone through. Mr Paul
Fraser, an old favourite, opened the concert with " Mairi Bhoid-
heach," for his rendering of which he received hearty applause.
Miss Kate Fraser sang " Glencoe " with much expression, and later
on she scored a distinct success in " Farewell to Fiunary." Miss
Fraser possesses a voice of singular purity of tone, and it is heard
to most advantage in the plaintive old melodies such as she usually
sings. Miss Clara Fraser sang " Turn Ye to Me " and " Wha's at
the Window," with the scientific accuracy and delicacy which
always characterises her performances. Miss Forbes, Tore, did full
justice to "Dark Lochnngar" and "Gu ma slan a chi mi." In the
former piece, especially, her clear rich voice was given full play ;
while the pretty Gaelic air which followed wras rendered with
accurate pronunciation, nppropiiate sweetness, and purity of
intonation. M. Oscar la Valette Parisot sang " The Roll-call " and
" Macgregor's Gathering," for each of which he received an
enthusiastic encore. He responded in both cases with a serio-
comic song. Mr J. Leslie Fraser sang " Cam' ye by Athol " very
effectively. Misses Grace Macdonald and Todd and Masters King
(Nairn) and Clark (Church Street) danced a reel, and afterwards,
in response to a unanimous recall, the Highland Fling, with gieat
spirit ; and the Reel of Tulloch was performed later on by four
stalwart and be-medalled young Highlanders, Messrs Ferguson,
Dewar, Forbes, and Macdonald, with equal acceptance. A
quartette party, consisting of Misses Fraser and Forbes, and Messrs
Ross and Fraser, sang "Bonnie Loch Lomon'" and "Wae's me for
Prince Charlie ;" but perhaps the greatest treat of the evening was
the piano and violin duets by Mrs Mackenzie of Ord and Mr W.
D. Davis, who seemed to be able to evolve almost anything they
pleaded out of their instruments. Their rendering of the old

Annual Assembly. 7

Jacobite songs was a musical revelation, and the enthusiastic
3iicores which followed sufficiently attested the feelings of the
ludience. The pianoforte accompaniments were tastefully supplied
by Miss C. Eraser, and the proceedings were appropriately
iiversified by an excellent selection of pipe-music from Pipe-Major
Ronald Mackenzie

The liev. Thomas Sinton proposed a vote of thanks to the
Chairman and artistes, and the singing of " Auld Lang Syne " by
:he performers brought a most enjoyable and successful assembly
:o a close. Through the kindness of the following parties, the
platform was decorated with plants, tartans, stags' heads, and old
irrns : — Plants, Howden & Co.; Urquhart & Co.; and Macleod <fc Co.,
lurserymen ; plaids, Macdougall & Co.; Murray & Watson ; Mac-
3eaii ifc Sons ; R. Fraser & Sons ; Campbell & Fraser ; and Mr
William Mackay ; stags' heads, Hu^h Snowie & Son, Mr Macleay,
md Mr J. Grain ; old arms, Bailie Stuart and Mr Leslie Fraser.

The following is a copy of the programme : —

PART I.

Address ...................... ...................................................... THE CHIEF.

Jong (Gaelic)—" Braigh Husgaich " ................................ Mr HUGH ERASER.

>ong — " Turn ye to me " (Ho ro mo Mhairi Dhubh) ....... Miss CLARA FRASER.

iong— "The Roll Call " .............................. M. OSCAR LA VALETTE PARISOT.

song--" Glencoe "( Ancient Gaelic Air) ........................ Miss KATE FRASER.

Piano and Violin Selection,- \ ........... Mrg MACKENZIE of Ord and Mr DAVIS.

bcotcli and Highland Airs |
3ong_" Mairi Bhoidheach ".. ....................................... Mr PAUL FRASER.

Dance —Scotch Reel ................................................ FOUR YOUNG GAELS.

song—" L< tchnagar " ....................................................... Mis* FORBES.

,, I Misses FRASER and FORBES, and

Quartette- ' Bonnie Loch-Lornan ........ | Mesgrs FRASER ftnd Rogs

PART II.

\ddress (Gaelic) ............................................................ Rev. Mr BISSET.

song — " Farewell to Fiunary " .................................... Miss KATE FRASER.

Song — " Macgregor's Gathering" ................... M. OSCAR LA VALETTE PARISOT.

Piano and Violin Selections— Scotch Airs... Mrs MACKENZIE of Ord & Mr DAVIS.
3011g — " Cain' ye by Athol " ......................................... Mr LESLIE FRASER.

Dance— Reel of Tulloch ..................................... OGANAICH GHAIDHEALACH.

Song — " Gu ma slan a chi rni " ............................................ Miss FORBES.

-" Ae' fond Kiss " (Ancient GacUc

song — " 0, wha's at the Window?" ........................... Miss CLARA FRASER.

' Auld Langsyne."

Gaelic Society of Inverness.

6th NOVEMBER, 1889.

This meeting, being the first of Session 1889-90, was largely
attended. The Rev. Donald Masson, M.A., M.D., Edinburgh,
read a paper, entitled, " The Church and Education in the
Highlands." The following is Dr Masson's paper : —

THE CHURCH AND EDUCATION IN THE HIGHLANDS.

In dealing with this subject, it would be unfair to dwell
exclusively on the splendid educational work of the Protestant
Presbyterian Church — that work, so wisely begun by John Knox,
which, for good or evil, was finally closed by the Education Act of
1872. We must remember that from very early times, long before
the Reformation, there were favoured spots of our native land
where the lamp of knowledge was trimmed and tended with pious
care by learned and faithful men, whose teaching and great per-
sonal influence shed abroad into the darkness some rays of culture
and the light of softened manners. We ought also to remember
that education is not always and necessarily a matter of letter-s,
and writings, and books. Already in our own day, when books
and book-learning count for so much, we have come to speak not
a little of technical education, the education of quickened senses,
manual dexterity, and special craft-culture. As an educated
nation, we boast of our ocean greyhounds, which are rapidly
turning the wide Atlantic into a convenient ferry, to be crossed
and recrossed without fear or concern at the frequent call of
business or pleasure. But what of the long and perilous voyages
of those hardy Norsemen who, ages ago, daring the tempests of
the German Ocean in their slim canoes, swept down upon our
shores to give us, if through the channel of temporary conquest,
that precious tertium quid in our blood, the iron and stiffening of
our national character 1 They were pagans, and practised human
sacrifice. But who shall say that they were uneducated 1 In the
whole technique of a sailor's life and work they were already
graduates in honours. Among them were splendid workers in
gold, silver, and iron. Their precious ornaments of gold and
silver, their swords of finest temper, beautifully damascened, take
high rank as works of art, and form the choicest treasures of
" ground-find," enriching the museums of the world. They were
merchantmen as well as sea kings. The golden coins of Rome and

The Church and Education in the Highlands. 9

Carthage were buried with them in the funeral mound, side by
side with the shirt of mail, the war-steed, or the ship which was
their home. Such men were surely educated, and must have been
educators as well. And what of the men of an unknown but
evidently a still earlier age, who carved the rude contents of those
handsome funeral urns, daily turned out in our day by a horde of
promiscuous excavators, irreverent as too often they are wholly
incompetent, pottering among the hoary burying grounds of a
forgotten race 1 Ignorant of our three R's, these primitive men, of
unknown age and race, very obviously were ; but wholly
uneducated we dare not call them. And the carvers of that
wonderful series of beautifully sculptured memorial stones, long
ago set up along the north east shores of Scotland, what shall we
say of them / Were they missionaries of the Asian Mystery ?
pilgrims from the sacred banks of the Five Rivers, who voyaged
all the way to Thule to propagate the mild religion of Buddha ?
A learned Aberdonian, long resident in India, and a competent
student of Comparative Archaeology, has fully convinced himself
that they were ; and he has written a large and learned book to
make good this faith that is in him. Whether, indeed, it be really
so ; or whether, as is most likely, these sculptured stones are the
work of the earlier Norsemen, their beautiful workmanship
bespeak no mean attainment in decorative art ; for they are the
admiration of the artists, not less than the antiquaries of our day.
These men had not our education. But who shall say that they
had not an education of their own which, in us, it were at once
unfair and unwise to ignore or despise ?

So much I frankly grant. In Scotland, as elsewhere, there was
some sort of education, lopsided, indeed, and at its best confined
mostly to the few, which not only preceded Christianity but was
also, to some extent at least, independent of the great Roman
Empire.

Still there can be no doubt that, in the wider and modern sense
of the word, the real education of Britain came to us through the
Christian Church. When, for example, about A.D. 560 Columba
visited the pagan court of Brude Mac Maelchon, on the shores of
the Ness, he must necessarily have left his converts something
more than the abstract truths of our most holy religion. Columba,
though brave and strong as the bravest hero of his warlike days,
was above all a missionary of the Gospel of Peace. He was deeply
versed, moreover, in all the book-learning of his day. His sword
was the transcriber's pen, and his only buckler that leabhran beg
ban he loved so well. If he found not at the Pictish Court

10 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

the arts of reading and writing, he must have left them there ; for
the service of the Church could not be carried on without them.
In like manner every little centre of Christian activity, in those
rude times, became necessarily a Christian school. The Scriptures,
had to be copied, or at least such portions of the sacred writ-ngs
as were used in the service of the Church. The Gospels especially
were largely transcribed. So were the Acts of the Apostles, the
Psalms, the Song of Solomon, and an abstract or condensed com-
mentary of Genesis. Nor did the transcriber confine himself to
the contents of the sacred volume. The works of Origen, the
" Sentences" of St Bernard, and other devotional writings were
much sought after, and copied with pious care.

Thus beginning at lona, the blessed work of education and
enlightenment spread to other centres of light and leading
throughout the land — to Abernethy, St Andrews, and Loch Leven ;
to Stirling, Perth, Dunkeld, and Aberdeen ; and, in due time, to
Beauly, Fortrose, and Baile Dhuthaich. Under the shadow of the
Church, and springing out of the exigencies of the Christian worship,
the School sprang up, a weak and humble sapling at first, ill-fitted
in itself to battle with the rude blast of rough and stormy times ;
but sheltered by the walls of the monastery, and nurtured by the
piety of the monks, it grew in strength and stature, spreading out
its branches on every side, and lifting them high towards heaven,
till at last it overshadowed and helped to crush the mother that
gave it birth and sheltered its tender youth.

But I must not anticipate ; nor here dare I enter upon
debatable ground. Suffice it to say that the seat of every great
church or monastery thus naturally became also the seat of a growing
school, each with due array of " scoloc," " master," and "ferleyu."
The scoloc was not yet a mere " scholar" in the modern school
sense. At a date as late as 1265 there is proof that, if still in
training for higher service, he was already in some real sense an
ecclesiastic, or u clerk." The late Dr Joseph Robertson traces the
"scolocs" back to the previous century, when he finds the Latin
" clerici" described in the book of the Miracles of St Cuthbert, as
" scolofthes in the Pictish language," clerici illi, qui in ecclesia ilia
commornnttir, qui Pictorum Lingua Scolofthes cognominantur. The
master, or rector, was an ecclesiastic of high dignity, as may be
gathered from the fact that in one of our oldest charters his name
stands side by side with the names of Malcolm Canmorb's three
sons. It may be added that in 1212 Pope Innocent III. addressed
a bull to the archdeacons of Dunkeld and Dunblane, and "magistro
scholarum de Pert" — to the master of the schools at Perth —

The Church and Education in the Highlands. 11

appointing them to act as arbiters in a dispute between the clerk
of Sanquhar and the monks of Paisley, concerning the ownership
of the Church of Prestwh-k. Dr Joseph Robertson thinks that in
the Irish and Scoto-Irish Churches the Ferleyn was the same as
the Chancellor in the English and Scoto-English Churches; and he
points to the fact that, as late as 1549, in St Andrews, where there
was no Chancellor, the archdeacon, " in right of his office of
Ferlevn," enjoyed certain rights, and was still under certain
responsibilities, in regard to the grammar school of that city.

Who was this Ferleyn, and what his position, duties, and the
origin of his name 1 The name is obviously Gaelic, and in Scot-
land it is found only in the churches which derive from lona. A
learned but somewhat eccentric friend of mine will have it that
the Ferlevn is simply "the shirted-man ;" and on this simple basis
of very simple philology he founds a learned argument for the
place in the Celtic Church of " the simple white surplice !" You
will, however, agree with me that in all probability the Ferleyn
was the "reader "in the simple service of our primitive Celtic
worship. That he may also, later on, have had his place and work
in the scriptorium, or transcribing room, of the early Christian
brotherhoods, I will not deny ; but whatever in the way of parallel
there may be traced between the scriptorium of the monks and
the sanctum of the modern sub-editor, it cannot be conceded that
the " reader " of the old Church establishment and the modern
press can claim any kinship, whether of origin or vocation.

For many long years there must, however, have lingered on
one slender bond of brotherhood between the schools and school-
men of the ancient Celtic Church on the one hand, and the
potential idea of that newspaper on the other, which in our day
aspires to show men a better and higher way than the old pagan
pathway of vulgar English, and the humdrum commonsense of the
common people. The Saturday Revieiv aspires to be " written by
gentlemen for gentlemen." Even so is it with the old schools of
which we have been speaking ; they were at first taught by eccles-
iastics only for ecclesiastics. For the gross ignorance of the common
hordes of men around them they do not seem to have taken much
concern, and on the thick darkness of that gross ignorance of the
common people they certainly made little perceptible impression.
It is not till near the close of the thirteenth century that we find
much evidence of any serious attempts to educate laymen —

" Thanks to St Bothan, son of mine,
Save Gawain, ne'er could pen a line."

12 Gaelic Society of /nuerness.

So sings the Douglas bold, and if he did not exactly speak the
sentiments of his order and his day, he certainly di I not belie to
any great extent the prevailing practice, and the pievailing
opinion of times but a little earlier. The earliest direct evidence
of any provision for the education of a" layman in Scotland is found
in the chartulary of Kelso, under date of 1260. In that year a
certain devout widow, named Matildis of Molle, made over to the
abbot and convent of Kelso certain life-rent interests of hers, on
condition that they should " provide victuals " and training for her
son William — ut exhibuerint in victualihw. In 1383-4 there is found
similar evidence of certain payments to the bishop of St Andrews,
on account of James Stewart, son of Robert II., then under his
Grace's charge. By the end of the century the education of lay-
men was more common, and a stray layman now begins to show
himself also among the schoolmasters. At this time too there is
evidence that laymen as well as churchmen resorted to the great
schools of the Continent for that higher education which was not
available at home. In 1411 was founded at St Andrews the first
of our Scottish Universities. The sister University of Glasgow
followed in 1450, and Aberdeen in 1494. They were all the
creations, and the gifts to Scotland, of the Church ; being founded
by Papal Bull, and their professed object, in the words of the
Bull, "the extension of the Catholic faith, the promotion of virtues,
and the cultivation of the understanding by the study of theology,
canon and civil law, the liberal arts, and every other lawful
faculty." It were too long to tell, even were this the place, how
this feather from the Roman Eagle's wing was used to speed the
arrow which, not long after, pierced the breast of Mother Church
in Scotland.

I must, however, crave your indulgence if for a moment I
advert to one special reason assigned by the Pope for erecting the
University of Aberdeen. It was because it had been represented
to his holiness by " our dearest son in Christ, James, the illustrious
King of Scots," that in the northern or north-eastern part of his
kingdom there are certain parts separated from the rest of the
kingdom by arms of the sea and very high mountains, in which
dwell men rude and ignorant of letters, and almost barbarous—
homines rudes et literarum ignari et jere indomiti — nay, are so
ignorant of letters that, not only for the preaching of the Word of
God to the people, but also for administering the Sacraments,
proper men cannot be found." On this complaint, by no means a
nattering one to the memory and character of our ancestors in these
northern parts, the King of ^cots appealed to the Pope to erect a

The Church and Education In the Highlands. 13

University in Old Aberdeen, " where many men, especially of
those parts," above described, " would readily apply themselves
to the study of letters, and acquire the precious pearl of know-
ledge ;" thus " would, provision be made for the salvation of souls,
and the rude and ignorant people would be instructed in honest
life and manners by others who would apply themselves to such
study of letters."

Such was the picture drawn about a century before the
Reformation, by a not unfriendly hand, of the social, religious, and
intellectual condition of our North Celtic forefathers.

Of the history of the Reformation in Scotland, as of the sub
sequent bickerings of Prelatist and " Priest writ large," I have
nothing here to say. The truly catholic aims and constitution of
your Society very rightly forbid it.

But when the thunderstorm of the Reformation had passed
away, and when the subsequent storms-in-a-teapot had subsided —
when the public life of Scotland was again settling down, so far as
peace and settlement could then be looked for — what provision do
we find for the education of the Scottish people ?

Of actual provision, at least outside the larger towns and royal
burghs, there ' was in truth very little left. With the rich
patrimony of the Church, the nobles and barons had gobbled up
also the little provision of oatmeal, already grievously attenuated
by lay impropriation, on which wholesome " victual " the scoloc
and ferleyn had formerly contrived to cultivate their modicum of
literature. But the General Assembly did not long sit down with
folded hands while this work of spoliation was being consummated.
For the new clergy the rescue of the tiends, or of what little of
them remained, was naturally a matter of first importance. They
did not, however, at all neglect to make inquiry about the " school-
lands " and other special endowments for education. In 1616 the
Privy Council had, no doubt, ordained the erection of a school in
every parish in Scotland. But for long years in the Highlands,
and largely also in the Lowlands, the Act was a dead letter. For
this neglect the Highland proprietors had an excuse which would
naturally carry great weight with the Highland people ; for to the
Highlanders the Act of the Council was grossly insulting. Its
one great professed object was "that the Ingleshe tong be
universally planted, and the Irishe language, which is one of the
chieff and principall causes of the continuance of barbaritie and
incivilitie among the inhabitants of the Isles and Hey Land is, may
be abolished and removit." Among Highland landowners there
were already not a few who really had little regard for their native

14 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

tongue. But they jumped eagerly at this excuse, and clung to it
with stubborn tenacity, which was so convenient and so serviceable
in saving their pockets. In 1638 the Assembly, which that year
met in Glasgow, " recommended " the several Presbyteries to see
to the settling of schools in every parish, and the providing in
such schools of " men able for the charge of teaching the youth,
public reading, and precenting of the Psalm, and catechising the
young people." In 1642 the Assembly "appointed," that is, ordered,
that this should be done, and they demanded that " the means
formerly devoted to this purpose " should now be applied to their
proper use. The Assembly's Act of 1649 is so significant that I
will quote the words of the authorised abridgment — " Tis recom-
mended to Parliament or the committee for plantation of church ?s,
that whatever either in parishes of burgh or land ward was formerly
given for maintenance of those who were readers, precentors in
congregations, and teachers of schools, before the establishment of
the Directory of Public Worship, may not, in whole or in part, be
alienated or taken away, but be reserved for maintenance of
sufficient schoolmasters and precentors, who are to be approvan by
the Presbytery ; and Presbyteries are required t< > see that none of
that maintenance given to the foresaid uses, or in use to be paid
thereunto, before the establishing of the Directory for Worship, be
drawn away from the Church."

Thus did they, whose duty it was to preach the great text,
" Ask and ye shall receive," themselves plead, pray, and remon-
strate for the disgorgement of some part of the stolen endowments
of church and school. They asked, but in the Highlands, at
least, they received nothing. On paper, no doubt, the parish
schools had already, as we have seen, been erected by Act of the
Privy Council, but all over the Highlands and Isles the Act was
almost universally evaded. The Church had therefore no alter-
native but to turn from the landowners to the people. In 1704
the General Assembly ordered contributions and collections
throughout her bounds, in order that, by the funds thus volun-
tarily raised, the scandal of the Highlands might be removed.
Again and again, from 1704 to 1709, was this order of the
Assembly renewed and earnestly pressed on all her members and
congregations.

It is in the midst of all this concern and urgent solicitude of
the Church for the deplorable ignorance of the Highlands that the
Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge first
emerges on our view. In response to the repeated appeals of the
General Assembly, and more especially in reply to its pointed

The Church and Education in the Highlands. 15

injunction in 1709, that in every parish in Scotland the minister
And elders should perambulate the parish to solicit the contri-
butions of the people, a sum not largely exceeding £1000 was
provided. The money was handed over to the Society, which
now, on this modest nest-egg in name of capital, began its blessed
and beneficent work. The Society was not what we would now
call a scheme of the Church Church schemes and Church com-
mittees were, in truth, the outcome of the Church's wider
experience and later emergencies. But the Society was, from its
origin, most intimately associated with the Church. Its members
and directors were leading Churchmen ; it began its work with the
Church's free contributions, which were renewed from year to year
for half-a-century, and at frequent intervals thereafter, down to
recent times ; and by its charter, its whole work, more especially
its whole work in the Highlands and in Highland schools, was
placed expressly under the supervision of the Church Courts, and
made primarily subservient to strictly religious purposes. I need
not tell you how splendidly did grow and prosper the work and
the wealth of this the oldest of all our Scottish patriotic and
charitable Christian Societies. In 1711 it had already "settled"
a school in the lone islet of St Kilda, and it resolved to erect
eleven "itinerating schools" in the places following: — Abertarff,
Strathdon, Braes of Mar (2 schools), some one of several competing
localities in Caithness, the same in Sutherland, the same in Skye,
Glencoe, the South Isles of Orkne}', the North Isles of Orkney,
and in Zetland. In 1712 five of these schools were "settled;" in
1713 there were 12 schools; in 1715, 25; in 1718, 34. The
capital of the Society grew in equal step with the advancing
number of its schools. Thus, in 1719, there were 48 schools and
a capital of £8168, and by 1733 there were 111 schools, with a
capital of £14,694.

In 1717 the Society reported to the General Assembly a fact
which was eminently discreditable to the Highland landowners.
In many parishes in which its schools were settled there was still
no parish school, as by law provided ; so that the heritors were
using the charity of the Society to relieve them of a legal burden.
For this reason the Society withdrew several of their schools,
removing them to other localities, and the General Assemblv
renewed its injunctions to Presbyteries and Synods to see that
every parish was provided with a parish school at the expense of
the heritors, as by law required.

The Act George I. cap. 8, set aside for education in the High-
lands, a capital sum of £20,000 out of the forfeited estates ; but

16 Gaelic Society of Inuerness.

not a shilling of that money ever reached the coffers of the
Society, or was in any way applied to educational uses. It seems
never to have got farther than the itching palms of parasites and
Court favourites. The old mimites of the Society are justly
indignant on this shameful grievance. Need we wonder if again
the innocent paid for the sins of high-born evil doers. The Society
withdrew every one of their schools on, or near, these forfeited
estates ! In 1753 the Society's capital had risen to ,£24,308, and
its schools numbered 152. In 175o it is reported to the General
Assembly that no fewer than 175 parishes are still without the-
parish schools by law required of the heritors. No wonder that
the Assembly does well to be angry, and peremptorily instructs the
Procurator and Agent of the Church to bring the offending heritors,
into Court.

Of the missionary schoolmasters employed in the beneficent
work of the Society, I shall name but two — Alex. Macdonald, Mac
Mhaighstir Alasdair, the foremost of our native Gaelic poets, and
Dugald Buchanan of Kannoch, the prince of Gaelic hymnists.
Than these two men, though in widely differing ways, and with
widely different effects, there are few of our countrymen, in high
or low estate, who ever exercised a larger influence over the High-
land people. Macdonald's poems, the first original Gaelic work
ever printed in Scotland, if not the inspiration of the people, have
furnished an excellent model for the Gaelic poets who came after
him. To him we owe the first attempt at the production of a
Gaelic dictionary. To Buchanan and other pious men of like gifts
and graces we owe, mainly through the funds and influence of the
Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, almost everything
that we possess in the way of Gaelic devotional literature. Nor
should it be forgotten that Buchanan had also some share in the
Society's greatest work — completed subsequently by the revered
Stewarts of Killin and Luss, father and son — our Gaelic version of
the Holy Scriptures. Thus, in various spheres of pious and
patriotic labour, and through the agency of able and godly men,
from generation to generation wisely chosen for its service, did
the work and wealth of this venerable Society go on and prosper
till, in 1872, the abstract of its scheme stood thus : — 268 schools,
male and female, costing annually £41 6^; 55 superannuated
teachers and catechists, £456; 11 mission churches, £700. Its
vested capital now touched £200,000.

Before leaving the purely historical aspects of my subject, I
must be allowed to pay a tribute of warm admiration to the
labours and research, in this connection, of your honorary secretary}

The Church and Education in the Highlands. 17

Mr William Mackay. His unwearied zeal and fine historic instinct
have turned to most fruitful account the many opportunities for
such inquiry which his widespread and influential professional
relations have opened up to him from time to time ; and his papers
in the Celtic Magazine will serve, not only as a rich granary of
local historic lore, already winnowed and sifted, but they may very
profitably be used as an index for yet farther research into your
many sources of as yet unwritten history.

Like the statutory work of the parish schools in the High-
lands, as ordered by Act of the Privy Council, the teaching in the
Society schools had at first one blot and serious blemish — it
ignored, and ignored of set deliberate purpose, the native tongue
of the people. Gaelic was regarded as the fertile source of High-
land Jacobitism and so-called Highland indolence. It was, there-
fore, to be rooted out at all cost. The whole work of the school
was gone through in speech which, to most of the pupils, must
have been less intelligible than dumb show. It is true that ere
long this absurd and barbarous cure for so-called Highland
barbarism was, to a great extent, abandoned or mitigated. But
with the more pedantic and baser sort of Highland dominie the
practice was much in vogue down to the time of my own school
days. I well remember the first bit of high English which was
regularly taught to new comers at my first school. It was an iron
rule that, under certain stress of nature, we should thus address
the supreme head of the school — " Please, Master, shall I get
out ?" If asked in Gaelic, come what might, no notice was taken
of the agonised request. It must be spoken in English. You can
fancy what happened, and happened often. The poor shy, self-
conscious boy would long defer the awkward attempt to utter the
sounds he could neither remember nor co-ordinate in proper
sequence. But nature in such cases has a strong pull on a young
fellow ; and so the attempt must be made. Very slowly, and
painfully embarrassed in more ways than one, wee kiltie edges his
way up to the master's desk, pulls his forelock, and makes his
doubly painful bow, " Pleasche, Meash — pleasch-h-h, Mheaschter-r
Mo-v-v-v-MH — N. (Tableaux !) Another curse of this absurd
practice, in the hands of an ignorant, pedantic teacher, was the utter
hopelessness, on the part of really thoughtful boys, of the most earnest
attempts at learning. I well remember one nice, bright boy, who
was thus sat upon with crushing effect. He was kept for more
than a year at the alphabet. All that time he was made the sport
of the school. His shy attempts at English were mimicked and
grossly caricatured. Hours were spent in making game of him,

2

18 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

for minutes given to any honest attempt to teach him. To crown
all, he was almost daily made to wear the fool's cap — a huge
erection of goatskin, with the hair outwards, and the tail hanging
down behind. I liked the boy, and greatly pitied him. To this
day my blood boils when I recall the cruel and grossly absurd
"teaching" of which he was the helpless victim.

Sooner or later such sickly absurdities will work their own cure,
or bring their antidote. Thus the lingering leaven of English
teaching in Gaelic-speaking communities brought the cure and
antidote of Gaelic schools. The origin of this valuable addition
to the educative machinery of the Highlands dates from 181 1. It
was preceded, as long before in the case of the old Society, by a
careful and far-reaching inquiry into the then existing educational
destitution of the large Highland parishes. In Lochbroom parish,
out of a population of 4000, " hardly 700 had the barest smatter-
ing of book-learning ;" and even they could read only in English.
Less than 20 "could read in (Gaelic a chapter or a psalm." From
Lochalsh the Rev. Mr Downie reports as follows : — There is a
Society school, in which the practice is to first teach some
elementary book in English, and after thus learning the sounds of
the alphabet, or after making still greater progress in English, then
to teach the reading of Gaelic — it is, of course, very rare to find
any person who can r* ad Gaelic without having first learned some
English. This also is generally true of the whole Synod of Glenelg.
Of those under 35, one in twenty on the mainland, and one in
forty in the islands, can read the Gaelic Scriptures. — From North
Uist, the Rev. Mr Macqueen reports a population of 4000; of them
200 could read the English Scriptures, and most of them also (the
200) the Gaelic Bible. " I never knew any who could read Gaelic
alone, as the education of youth always, as far as I have seen,
begins in English."

The Gaelic School Society never reached the large proportions,
whether for work or for wealth, of its wealthy and much honoured
predecessor. But it did good work in its day, and, school boards
notwithstanding, it still finds some work to do. Its management,
since 1843, has been almost exclusively in the hands of leading
members of the Free Church, but it seeks diligently, if not very
successfully, to gather its funds beside all waters.

The Education Scheme of the Church of Scotland will long be
remembered as, perhaps, the largest and most successful of all the
voluntary agencies which have been employed for the spread of
knowledge and enlightenment among the Highland people. It
dates no farther back than 1824, when the General Assembly

The Church and Education in the Highlands. 19

ordered a return of the existing educational necessities of the six
Highland Synods. The result showed that no fewer than 258 new
schools were urgently called for. The next step was to order
church collections and gather subscriptions. Then was put in
hand the preparation of a new series of school books, under the
care of Dr Andrew Thomson of St George's. They were at once
translated into Gaelic by Mr John Macdonald, the proof-reader of
the Gaelic Bible of 1826, and afterwards minister of Comrie. For
this series of books Dr Norman Macleod of St Columba's
prepared also a Gaelic Collection, which was highly prized, and is
now rarely met with. In 1826 a sum of £5488 was collected, and
40 stations for schools were fixed upon. In 1827 as many as 35
schools were already in operation ; and 35 stations, subject to the
erection of suitable buildings, were selected. The Convener of the
Committee was the very Rev. Principal Baird, whose melting style
of pulpit eloquence led to the joke among his friends, when he
preached before the King, of " George Baird to George Rex,
greeting." Dr Norman Macleod was also a very active member of
the Committee, which thus reports (1826) — "Within the short
period of two years they have collected a fund of £7639 ; they
have carefully investigated the necessities of almost every High-
land district, in respect of education and religious instruction ;
they have secured, by a correspondence with heritors, the provision
•of liberal and permanent accommodation for schools at 120 different
stations ; and already they have established 35 schools, and placed
them under competent teachers."

The Committee's report for 1829 is now before me. It tells a
tale of widespread, earnest, fruitful work. In this, the fourth year
•only after its appointment, the Committee has already 85 schools
with 7000 scholars. Of these some 3000 are learning to read
'Gaelic by the use of Gaelic schoolbooks, 6000 are learning to read
English, over 3000 writing and arithmetic, 70 book-keeping, 120
Latin, 57 geography, and 76 mathematics.

There was at first a serious effort to induce aged people to
.attend the schools so as to learn to read the Scriptures in Gaelic ;
and in some districts the idea was taken up with enthusiasm. The
movement was sometimes productive of unexpected results. I
well remember an aged dairymaid who thus sought the instructions
•of the General Assembly schoolmasters. The school was fully two
miles away, and the good woman had her work at home. For a
time she visited the schoolmaster in the evening ; and sometimes
she came to me, then a very small boy, to help her with the
.arduous work of her little Gaelic school book. By and by the

20 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

teacher found the way to the "big house," where an interesting
class of smart young serving-women received his instructions. He
was vastly popular with his class. Though a cripple, he was a
bachelor, and a clever insinuating fellow to boot. He was alao
the precentor of the Parish Church, and could play the fiddle.
The dairymaid, as pioneer and first-foot of the class, looked for the
special attention of her teacher. She was of mature age and
experience, and in her own opinion was well-fitted to be the help-
mate of one whose calling implied a certain sobriety and gravity
of deportment. She had, moreover, saved a trifle of money. No-
wonder the gossips wagged their heads. To her the schoolmaster
was always considerate and respectful; but in vain was her
ribboned cap set at him .vith nearer and warmer interest. He
had his pick of the lot, and the sly rogue chose the prettiest, the
youngest, and the pertest. She was my lady's-maid, and having
passed a week or two on one memorable occasion in London, her
effort to discipline her dainty tongue and pouting rosy Ups to the
rude vulgarities of " that horrid Gaelic," was supremely amusing.
All the same she made the cripple schoolmaster a good, ambitious
wife. She taught him the ways of the gentry, and made him.
throw away his stilts to limp springingly along to church, in time
iambic, with a fashionable walking stick. Finally, she brought up,
healthily and wisely, a family of well-doing lads, who are an honour
to their home and to the Highlands. Some of you may have
heard of Dr Norman Macleod's examination of one of these schools,
in which he found son, father, and grandfather, in the same Gaelic
Bible class. At a certain stage in the work of examining the class,
the little boy was visibly moved, and unable to contain himself
any longer, at last burst out into a wail and bitter cry. "What's
the matter with you, my boy ?" asked the kindly doctor. " Please,
sir, I hae trappit my grandfather, and he winna let me up ! "

The most interesting feature, perhaps, in the wrork of these
General Assembly schools, was their experience of what we now
call "the religious difficulty." From the report of 1829, I see
that in the Assembly's school at Glenlivat 26 of the pupils were
Catholics ; at Dalibrog, in Uist, all the pupils but live were
Catholics ; and of the school at Balivanich, also in Uist, the teacher
thus naively writes to the Convener : — " The greater part of the
Roman Catholics have sent their children to this school, but they
never allow their children to learn either Shorter or Mother's
Catechism. For my part I have never insisted on their learning
anything that might be the means of making a division, as has
been the case before. What surprises me very much is, to find.

The Church and Education in the Highlands. 21

that their children are allowed to learn portions of the Psalms like
other children ; but not a single question (of the Catechism) will
they learn. I only remonstrated with two or three of them, and
they told me that their mothers would not allow them to learn
any Protestant Catechism, as they had a Catechism of their own."

On this significant letter I make two remarks ; the schoolmaster
of Balivauich must truly have been a Nathanael in whom was no
guile, not to have seen the ecclesiastical differences between the
Catechism and the Psalms, closely associated although they were
in the work of our Highland schools ; and in Uist, as elsewhere in
the Catholic Church, the devout mothers were the best guardians
of the Faith. But it should be noted that the priest, under this
arrangement, did not discountenance these General Assembly
schools. Along with the minister, the laird, and the factor, he
was usually found assisting at the great annual function of the
school examination by the local Presbytery.

It has been stated that from the first the General Assembly's
Committee resolved that in Gaelic-speaking districts the teaching
should be bilingual. But it must be confessed that in many cases
their intention was never fairly and fully carried out. For one
thing, the parents in many cases, even those of them who them-
selves knew little or no English, were dead against the teaching of
Gaelic ; they wished their children to learn English, that they
might get on in the world. But there was another serious draw-
back. There was not then, and there is not now, a reasonably
suitable set of Gaelic school-books. The Committee's Gaelic
school-books were prepared by an eminent Gaelic scholar and an
experienced teacher. But the books proceed on a vicious principle
— they are strict translations of Dr Andrew Thomson's school-
books. Even as English class-books these last are exceedingly
faulty. They consist largely of heavy printed blocks or paragraphs
of detached words, without rhyme or reason, which to learn is the
dreariest and driest work I ever experienced. And the Gaelic books,
being translations, bred new and almost unspeakable difficulties of
their own. With a class of young children beginning to read, you
must make up your little sentences of the shortest and simplest
words you can weave together into sense, or something like sense.
In Dr Andrew Thomson's First Book the words are anything but
simple, and even if they were, their translation into Gaelic would
not necessarily be simple or short. The translator did his best,
but his best is really so bad as to be well-nigh impracticable.
Perhaps the simplest set of English school-books for beginners is
Nelsons'. But in an evil hour, the Nelsons were induced to trans-

22 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

late their first book into Gaelic, for the use of Highland schools, as
it had previously been translated into French for the public schools
in Quebec. What was the result ? I venture to say that most of
you who are not well practised Gaelic readers, would find, in this
Primer for infants, a bit of remarkably tough work. Take, for
example, the following little sentence : — go up to him. In English,
nothing could be simpler, but turn it into Gaelic, and lo ! the
mouse has bred a mountain in very deed : — Falbh suos d'a
ionnsuidhsa. Just think of that on the first page of a child's
primer !

The truth is, that the preparation of a practicable Gaelic first
lesson-book, is a most difficult thing. And, if ever it is done
successfully, there must be no thought of translation. The
shortest, simplest words of the language must be chosen, and
deftly woven into the web of short intelligible sentences, passing
as soon as possible into interesting stories. This will assuredly be
no child's play. I almost fear that the present spelling of Gaelic
puts it entirely out of the running as an instrument of elementary
instruction, otherwise than orally. The spelling of Gaelic, in
Scotland as in Ireland, has, indeed, been its death — has done more
to kill our noble tongue than the assaults and machinations of all
its foes. If the great writers of the Elizabethan age were as
frightened of each other, on the one hand, or as testily imperious
on the other, about the proper spell ing of English, as we are about
the spelling of Gaelic, where to-day would be the great master-
pieces of our English literature 1 No language under heaven is so
unpretentious in its spelling as English : what tongue enshrines
a nobler literature ? Therefore would I say to all my countrymen
who love our mother tongue — Be content to write Gaelic, as
Shakespeare, Milton, or Walter Scott wrote English. Make light
of the mysteries and complex machinery of oracular experts in
Gaelic spelling — not too severely caricatured as " Gaelic medicine
men, and prophets of pretentious etymological hocus-pocus." Some
men would make you believe that the hardest literary work in this
world is to write anything in Gaelic — in fact, that they alone are
writers of Gaelic, and that the art will die with them. The strange
thing is that these only writers of Gaelic never write it. Is it
because they have nothing to write ? Is it that they have so
exhausted their wits in empty elaboration of the letter that of the
spirit — of the thought — there is nothing in them ? Or is it that
they fear being weighed in their own balance 1

What connexion has all this with my subject ? Much every-
way : for if our Gaelic had been more simply spelled, the General

The Church and Education in the Highlands. 23

Assembly's efforts to teach it would have been more successful, the
sap of native literary aspiration would not have been frozen in
the bud, our Gaelic literature would have been much the richer,
and the blot of illiteracy, all our schools notwithstanding, would
long ago have been wiped from, the brow of our people.

As I am not writing the history of the General Assembly's
noble scheme for spreading the blessings of education among the
Highland people, there is no call for farther following the details
of its growth and great prosperity. Unchecked by the internal
troubles and controversies of the Church, it triumphantly advanced
from strength to strength till, in 1872, when the whole educational
work of Scotland was taken over by the Government, the statistics
of the Committee, as stated in their report to the General
Assembly, were as follows : -Annual income, exclusive of Govern-
ment grants, £6831 ; number of schools 307, with 25,000 day
pupils; sewing schools, 130; superannuated teachers, 11. In
that year the Committee also reports six building grants for new
or enlarged school premises. It also reports a few Gaelic bursaries
for Highland students in training at Normal Schools, for the supply
of schools in Gaelic-speaking districts.

This was something of which the Highlands and the Church
might well be proud. But to the Church the retrospect in 1872
was more gratifying than the prospect was re-assuring. Up till
now, with the sister enterprise since 1843 of the kindred committee
of the Free Church,* the Church of Scotland may be said to have
charged herself with the education of the whole Scottish people.
The Highland -i had always been her peculiar care. And the work
may well be said to have prospered in her hand. In 1871 the
Committee " recall to the attention of the Church that their funds
are in so satisfactory a state that they were in a position not
merely to grant urgent applications, but to invite them. They
are satisfied that they are able to supply all, and more than all,
the educational destitution existing in Scotland. Since issuing
the invitation to ministers and others to bring all necessitous cases
before them, they have had an opportunity afforded them of
improving the position of many existing schools, but they have not
yet been able to meet with more than half-a-dozen localities where
there is actual want of the means of education, and these in remote
and thinly-peopled Highland glens." By the promoters of the
Education Act, passed in 1872, it was expected that a rate of 3d
per £1 would amply meet the wants of the School Boards. But

* See Note, p. 25.

24 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

the Church knew better. She argued that, in the Highlands at
least, such a rate would be wholly inadequate. Thus speaks the
report of the Committee to the Assembly of 1872 : — " Moreover
the rate will fail. A national rate will supply the necessary funds ;
but parochial rating will fail to do so, without an intolerable
pressure, in those very districts which most stand in need of better
school buildings and more efficient teachers." The calculations on
which this warning is based need not here be repeated. The
event, however, has shewn but too emphatically that churchmen
can still be true prophets.

And so the curtain falls ! The Church and education, so
honourably and so faithfully associated for many centuries, now
part company. At least they have parted company, so far as what
once we knew as the Protestant Reformed Faith is concerned.
With other Churches the work of education is now much more
firmly and jealously bound up than ever it was before. Will these
new Church schools be as tolerant, as tenderly regardful of a
neighbour's conscience, as the schools whose spirit and work I
have endeavoured to describe? Shall I say — need I say — time
will tell ? Short as the time is, has it not told already ?

Be that as it may, the schools of the National Presbyterian
Church have for ever passed away : and with them have passed
away, whether we like it or not, the hold and influence of Presby-
terianism, established and disestablished, on the life and work of
the schools of the nation. Compared with the zealous, whole-
hearted religious propaganda of the Catholic and Episcopal schools,
our so-called religious "use and woi f in the National Schools, is
but a mere caput mortunm — a compromise of incompatibles, which,
necessarily, writes itself down incompetent— such a compromise of
religion as represents the combined conscience, if such a thing can
be, of a Board on which Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Infidel,
have each an equal voice — such a compromise as practically
cancels out the element of religion on both sides of the equation
of our whole national school teaching — a compromise whose only
possible symbol is lukewarm latitudinarianism — a latitudinarianism
which, so far from being as of old, a graceful concession to those
who differ from us, is only the bitter fruit of narrow, suicidal
jealousies among ourselves. And all this, be it remembered, at a
cost to the nation which is simply appalling, comes in the room of
a system which cost the nation next to nothing.

But the past is past. Our duty is to make the best we can of
things as they are. While, therefore, with the General Assembly
of 1873, expressing our " deep regret that these admirable schools

The Church and Education in the Highlands. 25

are now blotted out," let us, also with the Assembly, " cherish the
hope," if we can, " that the new system may be productive of the
same benefit to the country."

NOTE.

At the close of my address Mr George J. Campbell com-
plained of the brevity and inadequacy of my notice of the Free
Church schools. I frankly confess that his complaint is not
without foundation. But my omission was not accidental, or a
mere oversight. The educational attitude of the Free Church, if
dealt with at all, would require copious and most delicate handling.
The programme of 1843 was, indeed, grandly ambitious. All over
the length and breadth of Scotland it aimed at a Non-Intrusion
church and school, set down at the door of every church and school
of the Establishment. Now, nothing is more likely than that,
when viewed in the short perspective of less than fifty years, the
motive of this ambitious programme may be seriously misunder-
stood. I knew something of the men who made the Free Church in
the North, and I feel bound to credit them with nobler motives than
unmingled ambition, or mingled ambition and resentment. What
was their raison d'etre for the Free Church ? It was their belief,
so loudly proclaimed at the time, that the Spirit of God had left
the old Church, from which, therefore, " conscience compelled
them to come out and be separate." In this they may have been
terribly mistaken. But undoubtedly it was their honest belief ;
and, from that point of view, we arc bound to concede that a real
concern for the godly upbringing of the young was the most potent
factor in their attitude to the schools of the National Church.
These schools, whether belonging to the Society for Propagating
Christian Knowledge, or to the General Assembly's Education
Committee, as well as the old Parochial Schools, they denounced
not less uncompromisingly than the churches. " The leprosy was
in their walls, and their teaching graduated for hell." Now, these
men may, as I have said, have been utterly and entirely mistaken ;
but no man has a right to say that they did not honestly believe
every word of what thus, with such dreadful earnestness, they
continually asserted. With the men who in 1843 made the Free
Church in the North, this magnificent programme of Free Church
schools became thus a logical, as well as a religious, necessity.
And was it not a splendid testimony to the rightful place of the
Christian religion in the schools of a Christian land ? But where
is that testimony to-day ? The schools of Scotland are secularised;

26 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

and it is the hand of the Free Church that has done it. If only
the needful funds had been forthcoming, her splendid testimony
of 1843 might still perhaps hold up its banner bravely. But when
the funds were not forthcoming this splendid testimony of the
Free Church schools was stopped. And, with her own, she must
needs also haul down the banner of her more fortunate neighbour,
To the old Church of Scotland her schools had never been a burden,
but a great delight. Over and over again she proclaimed her willing-
ness to charge herself with the whole school education of Scotland.
But it must not be : she must abdicate the position which her
neighbour cannot afford to share with her. Now, if in my address
I had at all taken up the history of the Free Church schools, these
things could not possibly be passed over ; nor could I avoid the
consideration of more recent and even more significant develop-
ments, strangely incompatible with the high position of exclusive
spirituality on which, in 1843, began that splendid ecclesiastical
drama, now fast ripening into tragedy. From all such ground of
controversy I naturally wished to keep aloof, and I only regret
that I should, however unwillingly, have been compelled thus
briefly to touch upon it. For an impartial history of the Free
Church of Scotland the time is not yet, nor will a meeting of the
Gaelic Society — where Protestant and Catholic, Churchman and
Dissenter, meet and work only as brother Highlanders — ever be the
proper place for its discussion.

13th NOVEMBER, 1889.

At this meeting the following gentlemen were elected members
of the Society : — Charles Julian Brewster Macpherson of Bellville,
Kingussie, honorary member; John Gunn, 14 Dalkeith Road,
Edinburgh ; J^neas Mackintosh, The Doune, Daviot ; John B.
Hatt, Abbey School, Fort-Augustus ; Walter Jamieson, Glenarm,
Ireland ; Rev. F. H. I. MacCormick, Whitehaven ; Hector Macpher-
son, 7 View Place, Inverness ; John Cook, commission agent, 21
Southside Road, Inverness ; and John Finlayson, commercial
traveller, Elsie Cottage, Porterfield, Inverness — ordinary members.
The Secretary intimated the receipt of Dr Bedel's copy of the
Old Testament in the Irish language of date 1685, from Mr Paul
Campbell, Blair-Athole, as a donation towards the Society's
Library. Thereafter Alex. Macbain, M.A., read a paper contributed

Celts and Teutons. 27

by the Rev. Mr Macgregor, Fair, entitled "Celts and Teutons.''
Mr Macgregor's paper was as follows : —

CELTS AND TEUTONS— A STUDY IN ANTHROPOLOGY.

The history of Europe for the last fifteen centuries has been
mainly the history of the two races whom we know as the Celts
and the Teutons. Before that epoch, of course, the Latin power
was supreme over the greater part of the world, and all other
nations were of comparatively little account. But when the
Roman Empire was at the height of its greatness, signs were not
wanting to show that the inheritance of the Csesars was soon to-
pass away into the hands of others. As early as the year 9 A.D.,
tidings came to the imperial city that a great disaster had befallen
the empire. The army of Varus — the whole forces of the hitherto
unconquered Rome — had been defeated, and nearly exterminated
by the Germans, amid the dark forests and treacherous morasses,
of their Fatherland. It was the first serious check which had
been given to a people whose career for many generations had
been one brilliant success. The Rhine from that day became the
eastern boundary of the Roman territory, and the ancient
Germania remained, what the modern Germany is to this day, the
home of a free and a mighty nation. This event may be called
the turning point in the history of Rome. It was the first step in
the decline, that ended in the fall of come centuries later. The
warrior, whose campaign came to such a disastrous end, is said to*
have killed himself in despair, and the Emperor Augustus never
ceased grieving for the loss of his splendid legions. He had cause-
to grieve, for the loss was all the harder to bear, because it meant
the loss of prestige and the beginning of national ruin. The
Germans still remember with pardonable pride the glory of that
day ; and Herman, who led his countrymen to victory at the battle,
which is known as Herman-Schlacht, or Herman's fight, has been
immortalised, as the Wallace, or King Arthur of his native
country.

So much for the first decisive blow that was struck by the
Teuton for liberty and fame. Symptoms had begun long before
this time to show that the Celt also was destined to achieve
greatness. Many ages before the time of Herman, the Gauls had
struck terror into the hearts of the Senators in the City of the
Seven Hills. Brennus, a Gaulish chief, whose name is evidently
the Latin form of Bran, or Brian, a well-known Celtic title, was the
hero of this adventure. At the head of a mighty -army he invaded

28 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Italy, and subdued it easily. Rome fell before him in the year
390 B.C., and the Senate was glad to pay a heavy ransom to pro-
pitiate the conqueror, and save the country from further loss.
This brought the war to an end for a time. The invaders returned
to their homes, and allowed their discomfited enemies to rest, and
gain strength for new enterprises. It is very remarkable how, on
this occasion, the Gauls showed the invariable characteristics of
their race. With them it was simply an impetuous attack,
victorious, of course, but not followed by any permanent advan-
tage. The fight being over, and the booty won, they were quite
content to give up the conquered territory and enjoy the profits
of their raid, without any thought of improving their position for
the future.

Many years passed away, and many changes came over the
spirit of their dream. Rome grew stronger. Carthage fell into
her hands, and the classic land of Greece was added to her posses-
sions. Her armies triumphed over the land that had not only
overthrown the whole force of Persia at Marathon and Salamis,
but had carried the fame of her heroes to the borders of India.
The wealth of Corinth and the wisdom of Athens were not able to
save them from the terrible legions of the consuls. Still more
wonderful to say, the Empire of Alexander the Great crumbled
into dust almost as quickly as it had risen. The conquests of the
Macedonian King, divided under the sway of several smaller men,
were swallowed up, kingdom after kingdom, by the all-powerful
republic of the west. And Gaul had her own turn of adversity.
Julius Caesar came, saw, and conquered. We cannot venture to
give implicit trust to his own accounts of that war, for they are no
doubt highly tinted by the exuberance of his sublime self-conceit.
Still, it was clear that Csesar's conquest vas very decided. The
Celts of Gaul were rent asunder by internal strife, as the Celts
•everywhere have so often been, and the perfect discipline of the
Romans gained the day. It was of no avail that the Gauls, in
their desperation, forgot their rivalries, and banded themselves to-
gether against the common enemy. In the yords of Motley, the
historian of the Dutch Republic, the frail confederacy fell asunder
like a rope of sand, at the first blow of Csesar's sword. The
southern invaders became the undisputed masters of Gaul.

And yet the Celts were by no means wiped out of the map of
the world. Across the English Channel were other families of the
same warlike people, who had not learned to submit to a foreign
Power, and who have not yet learned that bitter lesson. So the
.sea- of war was transferred to Britain, and the first of a series of

Celts and Teutons. 29

invasions took place. The success of the Roman arms was only
partial. Contrary to all that might have been expected, the
islanders made a stubborn resistance, which was not wholly without
avail. Their courage and endurance must have been of a high
order when they could make such a stand as they did, considering
the disadvantages under which they had to meet the invaders.
The Romans were strong in numbers, in discipline, in implements
of war, in confidence arising from recent victory — in short, they
were strong in all that constitutes the strength of an army. The
Britons, on the other hand, were divided into a number of petty
States ; they were poorly armed, unpractised in scientific warfare,
and their personal courage, great as it undoubtedly was, could not
compensate altogether for defects such as these. Still, it may be
claimed for our hardy ancestors that, like the Germans, they
refused to be conquered. The Romans might ravage the low
countries, and might boast that, with all the resources of their
comparative civilisation, they were more than a match for the
barbarians of the North. But the spirit of the Celts remained
unbroken. Retiring to the mountains of Scotland and Wales, or
to the distant island of Hibernia, they refused to confess them-
selves beaten, and it may fairly be said that they never were
really subject to the yoke of the foreign intruders. The Celts and
the Teutons were the most indomitable foes that the Romans
ever met in the tented field.

Before coming to the period where the two races began to come
into close relations with each other, we may try what we can learn
about their origin. That they, along with most of the other
European nations, emigrated from Asia at a remote period in the
past is pretty clear. This has been often disputed, but the balance
of evidence is in favour of the opinion that the emigration did
take place. But further details are obscure and undefined. The
time at which the successive waves of invasion passed on towards
the west can hardly be brought to the accuracy of given dates,
and the order in which the several tribes made their journeys has
not yet been quite determined. The science of Ethnology, if indeed
it can properly be called a science, is a most fascinating study, but
unfortunately it cannot be reduced to anything like an actual
demonstration of undoubted truths. All that is known of it with
certainty is but the skeleton of a system, to which the details have
to be adapted, partly from bold guesses at probabilities, and partly,
it is to be feared, from vivid imagination. All this, however,
while it forbids us to regard the study as an exact science, makes
it all the more interesting from a sentimental point of view. Where

30 Gaelic Society of Inuerness.

exactness is wanting there is room for the play of thought, wander-
ing from point to point, spelling out here and there a known fact,
and adorning it with a multitude of possibilities, any one of which
may be true, and any one of which can hardly be proved to be
untrue.

How, then, shall we trace the two tribes of which we have
spoken to their origin ? History is available only to a limited
extent, for the history of ancient times is concerned, for the most
part, with totally different people. The inhabitants of many
eastern lands have had their records written during ages before
either Germany or England had a literature. Greece and Egypt
have left us some monuments of venerable antiquity to tell us of
the fame of their philosophers and poets. What though printing
was unheard of, and remained to be invented in an age that was
yet far away on the horizon of time, these countries had historical
records, carved on stately piles of stone, more lasting than brass.
The worthy who, in Goldsmith's immortal romance, spoke so
learnedly of Sanchoniathon, Manetho, and Berosus, brings to mind
some names of men who actually did leave testimony to the events
of their time. If we had authorities such as th< se to guide us in
our present enquiry, we might be able to feel our way better than
we now can do, through the darkness of ages, in which so little
that is not fabulous can be distinguished.

We are indebted to Jewish annals for the first notice that we
have to guide us. In the tenth chapter of Genesis we read that
Gomer, the eldest son of Japhet, had thrco sons, two of whom
have a special interest for us at present. It is to be observed that
Gomer was the son of the patriarch from whom we believe the
Aryan races to be descended. His name is identified with the
early Cimmerians, with the later Cimbri, arid with the modern
Cyrnri, all of whose names are strikingly like that of their distant
ancestor. His two sons, to whom we have referred, were Ashkenaz
and Riphath. They were the two oldest branches of the family of
Japhet. From the former are descended the Teutons, and from
the latter the Celts have their origin. Authority for these state-
ments are to be found in Smith's well known Dictionary of the
Bible, and in the Hebrew Lexicon of Dr Julius Fuerst. An echo
of the name of the elder brother is heard in the word Scandinavin,
that of the younger is repeated in the Khipean mountains, which
are known to us as the Carpathians. It may be too much to say
that the names of the patriarchs were in any way indicative of the
character of their descendants. But it is worthy of remark that
Ashkenaz suggests a derivation from the Hebrew root, shakan, a

Celts and Teutons. 31

root which means to rest ; while Riphath is probably related to
the verb riph or ruph, which means to nutter, or move about rest-
lessly. If these derivations be accurate, they point with great
force to the distinctive characteristics of the two tribes — the one
patient, methodical, and persevering, while the other is quick,
lively, courageous, and eager for change. Anyone who has studied
history must know how marked these characteristics have always
been.

It is to be regretted that so little is known with certainty
-about the fortunes of the tribes down to a period comparatively
modern. Fain would we roll awav the cloud of darkness that
hangs over the past, that we might see the gradual rise of the
tribes of the east, and their successive movements in quest of new
homes, when their early abodes had become too narrow to contain
them. It is strange to see how often history repeats itself. The
leading families of mankind, in the very early ages of the world,
had to move to the west, in order to find new openings for their
energies, just as their descendants at the present day have to flock
in thousands to America, there to settle, and lay the foundations,
it may be, of many new nations, in the twentieth century and in
the ages that are to follow it. The very name of Europe is to us
-a reminder of the feelings that rose in the minds of the first
travellers when they drew near the Hellespont, and saw, across the
waves, what was to them indeed a new world. The Wide Prospect
— such is the meaning of the Greek words which, according to
Matthew Arnold, have given a name to that continent on which
the Celts and Teutons have acted such a distinguished part ever
: since the Christian era. It is by no means a great effort of the
imagination to call up some of the thoughts that must have filled
the minds of the wanderers when they looked at the view that
lay before their eyes. Journeying from we know not how far, they
came to a point where further march was stopped by the sea.
There it became necessary either to stop their career or to find a
means of crossing to the opposite shore. When navigation was in
its infancy it must have been an arduous work to move a multitude
of people even across the narrow strip of sea that separates the two
continents, near the place where Constantinople now stands. Yet
it was the destiny of both Celts and Teutons to loavo their first
homes far behind, and seek their fortune in an unknown land, that
was by and by to be very well known by their families in future
ages. They made their way across, and proceeded to take posses-
sion A new inheritance lay before them, and we may well believe
•that they were prepared to make a vigorous effort to secure them-

32 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

selves in it. The original inhabitants must have thought it rather
hard to have to give place to the invaders, but they were over-
powered, and driven into remote corners. Some had to seek the
friendly shelter of the Pyrenees, where remnants of them are still
to be found, and others had to betake themselves to the inhos-
pitable regions of Finland and Lapland. The strength of the
Japhetic tribes was such as to bear down any opposition that they
may have met, and in process of time they divided the most of the
continent between them. The Greeks, descended from Javan, the
fourth son of Japhet, took up their abode in the south, while the
Slavonic nations, who probably came by way of the Caucasus, to-
the east of the Black Sea, settled in what is now called Russia.
The Celts and Teutons had for their share the north and west,,
including the Scandinavian peninsula.

The two last-named have become the most famous of them all,
and it is not too much to say that, united, they bid fair to possess
the world. Macaulay says that liberty and order are two of the
greatest blessings which a nation can enjoy. We may go further,
and say that society, in the form of a nation, cannot exist unless
it enjoys the advantages of liberty and order combined. The
two races of which we speak have been distinguished in ani
eminent degree for their attachment to these two great foundations,
upon which power rests. With the Celts the love of freedom seems,
to have always been the ruling passion. Witness the untiring zeal
with which our forefathers resisted, against such tremendous odds,
the power of Saxon England, when it was unrighteously exercised
to crush them, in the middle ages. That is but one illus-
tration out of many that might be given. It may suffice to show
the inherent principle that abode in their hearts, as it still abides,
to keep down every unjust attempt to bear the sway over them.
No doubt this is a disposition that may be carried too far, and the
Highlanders have on more than one occasion marred their fortunes
by a too eager desire to have their own way. This was con-
spicuously the case in the history of the Highland clans. It was
impossible for them to unite against a common enemy, because
they could not get over their jealousy of each other, and conse-
quently they were again and again made to bear the loss of the
objects at which they aimed. When Robert the Bruce was
engaged in his struggle for the independence of Scotland some of
the clans were amongst his most bitter antagonists, not because
they desired Scotland to become a province of England, but
because they wished to take the opposite side from other clans,
who fought under his banner. It was much the same in the civil

Celts and Teutons. 33

wars that arose after the union of the crowns in 1603. At Killie-
crankie — almost exactly two hundred years ago — an army,
composed chiefly of Highlanders, but commanded by Dundee, was
victorious over the Whig army, led by an able officer and thorougli
Highlander, General Mackay. When Prince Charles Edward made
his brilliant but unhappy fiasco in 1745-6, the number of clansmen
that sympathised with the cause of King George was probably not
much less than the number of those who rose for the Chevalier.
And all this was on account of the feeling that no one chief should
be allowed to bear the sway over all. It may be supposed that
this says very little for the capacity of the Celtic races to take a
share in ruling the world. We shall see in a little how this over-
growth of an independent spirit has been tempered into manageable
proportions.

With the Teutons, as we have seen, the love of freedom has
been no less strong than with the Celts, but it has been
accompanied by an equally strong desire for order and settled
.government. We are accustomed to regard the Germans as a
thoughtful, cautious race, whose delight is in philosophy, music,
and, generally speaking, all that pertains to civilisation. And upon
the whole the estimate is correct. The natural disposition of the
people is towards the arts of peace. To Germany we are indebted
for leading the van in nearly all the great movements of thought
that have taken possession of the minds of men. And, in order
to avoid any allusion that may suggest controversy, it may be
enough to say that Germany has for many centuries been the chief
civiliser of the world. Let it not be supposed that this throws
any discredit on our own country, for everybody knows that the
English are really a people of Teutonic descent, and that by their
union with Scotland they have secured for our nation the two
chief elements of national greatness.

Bat it is remarkable that the relations subsisting between the
two principal branches of the Japhetic race have, for the most part,
been of a hostile nature. Indeed, it has only been in modern
times, and in peculiar circumstances, that any kind of union
between them has taken place. That union has been chiefly con-
fined to English-speaking nations, and, even within these limits,
Ireland forms a partial exception. The Irish difficulty, though
closely connected with the subject of the present enquiry, must be
left out of account, as it is a political problem that causes an
unpleasant difference of opinion. We need not, however, hesitate
to remark that the troubles of Ireland have arisen almost wholly
from the ancient, and not yet quite extinct, feud between Celt and

3

34 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Teuton. This feud appears in history as early as the fourth cen
tury A.D.} when the Franks, a German tribe, began to threaten the
decaying power of Rome in Gaul. These Franks, with the firm-
ness and energy of their race, made themselves masters of the land,
to which they gave the mediaeval name of France, which it is
likely to bear during the rest of its history. France did not lose
her identity as a nation when thus overrun. On the contrary,
this was the turning point at which her career began as one of the
great Powers of the world. From the fifth century to the close of
the eighteenth the French monarchs held the reins, many of them
with great ability and distinguished success, raising their country
step by step, till France, under Louis XIV., was perhaps the most
powerful nation in Europe. The a^e of splendour was followed by
the disastrous war of the Spanish succession ; and the misrule of
Louis XV. and Louis XVI. brought the kingdom of Clovis to an
end.

Not to digress any further, it is interesting to notice the results
of the Frankish invasion. As the Norman conquerors of England
combined with the Saxons whom they found there, so the Franks,
on assuming the sovereignty of France, became part of the people
over whom they ruled. Hence the greatness to which the country
attained. The two essentials were introduced. Freedom and
order were established, and the heavy yoke of Rome was thrown
off for ever. But France was, and s"till is, Celtic to the core.
Consequently she has never been able to keep up a good under-
standing with Germany. As the Normanised England became the
inveterate foe of France, so the German power, once set up in
France, became more Celtic than the Celts themselves in hating
the country beyond the Rhine. It is not difficult to see circum-
stances that tended to strengthen this mutual distrust. There
was, for one thing, the rivalry that was natural, and almost
inevitable, between the two leading nations of the continent.
Further, in process of time a sort of alliance sprang up between
England and Germany, which was equally natural between two
countries who had a common ancestry, whose languages were
closely connected, and who latterly were drawn together by the
Reformation in the sixteenth century. It was not possible that
the friend of England could at any time be the friend of France.
With all these considerations, it is not strange that the French and
Germans should for so long a time have lived in a state of chronic
warfare. The fire has not yet burnt out. The stirring scenes of
Metz and Sedau were the consequences of the strife that led to
the battle of Jena, and the fall of the Prussian capital before

Celts and Teutons. 35

Napoleon Bonaparte. And when the Prussian king was crowned
as Emperor, in the palace of Versailles, a new score was begun,
which France is only too eager to wipe out again.

Union between the two races has often been tried on the
continent of Europe, but never with decided success. The attempt
has generally been like trying to unite fire and water. Charlemagne,
King of the Franks, was also Emperor of Germany from the year
800 till his death in 814. But the wide dominion which yielded
to his valour and genius, was again divided almost as soon as his
master hand was taken away. Anyone who has read " Morley's
Dutch Republic," knows what was the result of the endeavours
made by Philip the Second of Spain to hold the Teutons of Holland
in the same leash with the Belgian Celts. That was a most
striking instance of failure, for it was one in which the outs; do
pressure was so tremendous that, if it had been possible to weld
the two into one, the thing would have been done. The whole
power of Spain was brought down upon William the Silent, Prince
of Orange, and his faithful Hollanders — and Spain was a much
greater Power in those days than she has ever been since then.
Indeed, it may be said that the desperate effort that she made at
that time to hold the Dutch in bondage was too much for her, and
that she has not yet recovered from the effects of the struggle.
During the present century again, the experiment has been tried
of making a kindgom of the Netherlands out of Holland and
Belgium. The union lasted for about half a generation, and then
the two ill-assorted partners separated, not to be united again, in
our time at least. And the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 became
the occasion of separating another connection of a somewhat
similar kind. Alsace, a German province, with strictly German
inhabitants, became a part of France in the time of Louis XIV.,
about two centuries earlier. France's difficulty became Germany's
opportunity, and the Alsatians once more entered into the com-
munity of the German States, that were joined into a mighty
empire under the veteran Kaiser William, the fame of whose army
made all the world to ring.

Enough has been said on this point. We have spoken of the
relations of the two races in foreign lands. It remains to be seen,
and will perhaps be more interesting to know, how they have
fared in our own country. Here we find that the course of events
has been different, and that the difference has been for the most
part to our advantage. Owing to our insular position, a coalition
of Celts and Teutons in Great Britain was possible, and in process
of time became an accomplished fact. Yet even here the rivalry

36 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

was difficult to kill, and it retained its vitality for many ages, to
the great loss of both races. We have a deeply rooted habit of
thinking of our own nation as the greatest in the world. This is
certainly pardonable, as we have good grounds for our belief.
But we 'are apt also to think that this pre-eminence has been ours
for an indefinite period, extending to remote antiquity, which is an
error as ridiculous as it is gigantic. If we look back for three
hundred years we find that England and Scotland were two
separate nations that had, from the dawn of their history, been
almost constantly at war with each other. Divided as they were,
it was not possible for either of them to exercise much influence
in the councils of Europe. Scotland had a kind of alliance with
France for many years, partly, no doubt, owing to the Celtic
element in the two nations, but chiefly due to the fact that
England was the common enemy of both. This alliance may
have been very profitable to France, but was not at all beneficial
to the smaller country. It could never make up for the want of
power that was caused by the constant jealousy and enmity that
our ancestors cherished against their neighbours on the south of
the Tweed.

In the year 1603 the two crowns were united, and James VI.
became the sole monarch of Great Britain. But for the next
hundred years things were worse than before. The union of the
crowns did not bring with it a union of the people. Disunion
bore its natural fruit, and England became a smaller power than
she had ever been since the Norman conquest. It is only when
we read history with attention that we see how low our standing
as a nation was during the reigns of the Stuart dynasty. Spain,
and France, and Holland, by turns swayed the destinies of the
world, while we were exercised with contests between Cavaliers
and Roundheads, or between Resolutioners and Protesters. Even
at this distance of time it is with a sense of humiliation that we
remember how the Dutch sent their fleet into the Thames, and
threatened the liberty of the Metropolis, while Charles the Second
was trifling his life away in the palace. We may be glad that the
follies of those days gave place to something like earnestness of
purpose in a succeeding age.

The fusion of races was a work of time, and till it was carried
out there was little but violence and disorder to be recorded in
our annals. It is interesting to notice how the two contending
races at last came to be made one, and what happy results followed
from the change. With the union of the crowns came a sense of
power in the minds of the people. It is not to be supposed that

Celts and Teutons. 37

the union alone brought this about, for there were other causes at
work. During the second half of the sixteenth century an
enormous advance had been made in learning and civilisation.
The art of printing had made knowledge more easy of attainment
than it had ever been before. And it is hardly necessary to do
more than mention that the literature of the Elizabethan age will
bo famous so long as the English language is remembered. All
this, of course, opened the eyes of the people to see their own
power, to the existence of which they had in the past been
strangely blinded. The Stuarts — most unwisely for themselves —
tried to stem the current of public feeling. The result was civil
war, followed by a series of revolutions. A king was beheaded,
and it seemed as if the monarchy was overthrown for ever. A
short term of republicanism was followed by the restoration of the
royal house to power, a restoration which only paved the way for
the great revolution of 1688. The throes and convulsions through
which the nation passed while these events were taking place, had
one good etfect which compensates for all the evil which they did.
The troubles of the seventeenth century made it impossible for
Celts and Teutons to remain separate any longer. It was evident
that national ruin was at the door unless national union were
resorted to. That union came about in 1707, when the two
Parliaments were made one, and the Scottish legislature in Edin-
burgh ceased to exist. The change was, to use words that have
become famous, "the end of an auld sang."

But it was a great deal more than that, for it was the birth of
a new nation, the greatest that the world has ever seen. To unite
the Celts with the Teutons was a work that had often been tried in
vain. The attempt failed on the Continent because on the Con-
tinent there was always plenty of elbow room. When one race
was worsted by the other the vanquished people could simply
move a little further away. There was plenty of natural
boundaries of mountain ranges and mighty rivers that helped to
keep up the separation. To this day, then, we see the French and
Germans continuing, not at all to the credit either of their heads
or their hearts, the feud of their ancestors of a thousand years ago.
In our island circumstances were different. Here the bounds were
narrow, and encircled by the adamantine wall of the ocean.
Fusion was inevitable in " this precious stone set in the silver
sea." It was only a question of time, and that time came in the
days of Queen Anne, when Britain first became the ruling power
of the world. The splendid series of victories achieved by
Maryborough, the first really great triumphs of our arms since

38 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Agincourt, in the middle ages, were only the precursors of still
greater events in coming years. The British empire was not much
longer to be confined to the old world, or to the lands that had
felt the iron hand of Rome. Regions that Csesar never knew, and
where his eagles had never flown, were to be possessed by the
descendants of the rude tribes 'of the North, whom he tried so
hard to subdue. The valour of the one, with the steady persever-
ance of the other, made the united nation irresistible, and her
people are now dominant in every quarter of the globe.

It is not to be forgotten, indeed, that a violent rupture took
place last century between the North American colonies and the
mother country. Nor is it at all unlikely that in process of time
other colonies, both in the New World and at the Antipodes, may
spring up into new nations. All this is part of the general law of
nature, in virtue of which new life springs out of the old, and
children grown to manhood cease to depend upon the parent.
This should be no cause for serious regret, and it is certainly no
cause for thinking that the Anglo-Saxon, or rather the Anglo-
Celtic race, has begun to decline from its eminence. The right
view to take is, that new nations springing from the old stock
serve to carry the vigour and the enterprise of the races from
which they have sprung, in a chain of increasing strength around
the world. If it be the case, as perhaps it is, that this is not a
statesmanlike opinion, it is also the case that statesmanship has
often failed to see what has been apparent to common sense.
The independence of the United States was for years a cause of
grief to the people of the old country. It seemed like a breaking
up of the established order of things, and a step towards ultimate
ruin. It was certainly a misfortune that the division was made
with such a wrench, and that we did not part on good terms with
our kinsmen beyond the Atlantic. But after all, a few years of
war, followed by an international misunderstanding for a genera-
tion or two, is but a small thing in the history of a world. Such
events bulk largely in the annals of a reign, and in the memories
of those in whose days they happen, but in the general progress
of humanity they are but as pebbles in a stream. They cause a
ripple for a little while and then the waters move onward, never
stopping, never turning back till they reach at last the ocean.

Even so has been the progress of the races formed by the
union of the Celts and Teutons. Troubles have befallen them,
but out of the nettle of danger the flower of safety has been
plucked. Not only has a great country grown out of the Ameri-
can Colonies, but the country that was left has grown more

Celts and Teutons. 39

powerful than it was before. The people of the United States,
made up as they are from a happy combination of the two best
tribes of the old world, have risen into a nation that still continues
to grow in strength, and which promises to maintain beyond the
seas the fame of that from which it had its beginning. And as
far as can be seen from the evidence of history, and the present
course of events, the extension of the Anglo-Celtic race must go
on till the language of Britain becomes the universal language,
and British civilisation rules mankind.

4th DECEMBER, 1889.

The following gentlemen were elected at this meeting, viz. : —
Rev. Mr Ben tick, E.G. Manse, Kirkhill ; Mr Cathel Kerr, Free
Church College, Aberdeen ; Mr Lachlan Macbean, editor Fifeshire
Advertiser, Kirkcaldy. Thereafter Mr William Mackay, honorary
secretary, read a paper contributed by Mr John Mackay, Hereford,
on " Sutherland Place Names — Durness and Eddrachilis." Mr
Mackay 's paper was as follows : —

SUTHERLAND PLACE NAMES.

DUKNESS PARISH.

The scenery of this parish is mostly wild and mountainous.
Its western coast is very slightly indented, offering to the Atlantic
a lofty and rock-bound front, terminating on the north in the huge
promontory of " grim Cape Wrath," 523 feet above sea level.
Everywhere the coast exhibits some of the finest lock scenery in
Scotland ; the cliffs about Cape Wrath, the Fair, and Whiten
Heads, rising sheer up from the sea to heights of 200 to 700 feet,
are fringed with "stacks," and tunnelled by caverns, the more
celebrated of which are the " Whiten" and " Smoo."

The rocks are composed of gneiss, granitic gneiss, quartzite,
and mica slate, with veins of felspar and porphyry. In some parts
they are variously conglomerate, red sandstone, and limestone.
The limestone underlying the surface soil of Durness proves a
valuable stimulant to its pastures. The limestone caverns present
fine specimens of stalactites and stalagmites. Immense blocks of
rounded granite frequently rest on the limestone rocks, telling
-their own tale of geological history, remote, incalculably remote.
From one of such blocks on the glebe land was formed, it is

40 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

interesting to record, the monument erected in the churchyard of
this parish to the memory of Sutherland's bard, Rob Donn Mackay,
elegist, satirist, lyrist. In the limestone has been found pieces of
porphyry, which were easily cut into seals and other ornaments.

The parish anciently comprehended the district lying between
the river Borgie, in the east, to Kyle Sku, on the west. It was
only in the year 1724 that it was divided into the ecclesiastical
and civil parishes of Tongue, Durness, and Eddrachilis. The latter
parish anciently formed a part of the Barony of Skelbo, of which
Richard Murray, brother of Bishop Gilbert Murray, was chieftain
in 1230. Durness seems to have been an appanage of the
Cathedral Church of Dornoch after Bishop Gilbert regulated the
affairs of his diocese, between the years 1225 and 1245. Tongue
formed part of the ancient " Strathuavernia."

Durness, as now constituted, is naturally divided into three
sections — 1. Parph, between the Atlantic and the Kyle of Durness.

2. Durness proper, between the Kyle of Durness and Loch Erriboll.

3. West Moine, between Loch Erriboll and the middle of the
morass called The Moine, half-way between Loch Hope and the
Kyle of Tongue.

There are in the valleys of this parish ten Pictish or Scandi-
navian towers, circular in form, some of them surrounded by
several circles of outworks. The one in Strathmore, called '• Dor-
nadilla," is an immense structure 150 feet in circumference, con-
sisting of two concentric walls of flagstones, said to be the hunting
tower of Dornadilla, king of the Scots. On the side of Beinn-
Spionnaidh is a building twelve feet square, called " Carn-an-Righ"
(the King's Cairn), probably where the King of the Scots lodged
while hunting, and where he stood to view the gathering of the
deer. It commands a very extensive prospect. Torfacus mentions
that " Sweyn, an Orkney magnate, waited on the King of Scotland
when hunting in the hills of ' Dyrness.' " This king may have
been Malcolm II. There are also several subterranean buildings,
called by the natives " leabaidh fholaichte" (hidden beds, or hiding
places). One of these, lately discovered on the west side of Loch
Erriboll, measured 40 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 6 feet high, built
of dry masonry, covered with flags, the descent to it being by
regular steps, and the entrance covered by flagstones. Near it
are large stones placed on end in an elliptical form.

The area of the parish is 147,324 acres, inclusive of 3726 acres
of water and 2541 acres of foreshore, and the islands Choarie,
Hoan, Garvellan.

The etymology name of this parish has been much controverted,
and various derivations assumed. A traditionary one is that a Skye-

Sutherland Place Names. 41

man from Duirinish, named Y. Ay. Aodh or Hugh MacThormaid,
of the Clan Morrison, trading in meal between the Lewis acd
I'hnrEO, had frequent dealings with the Bishop of Caithness, whose
seat was near Thurso. He fell in love with, and married, the
Bishop's sister or daughter, receiving as her dowry the Church
hinds of Durness and Ashir, an extensive Highland estate, and, in
taking possession of it, named it Duirinish, from the place of his
nativity in Skye. It is said that a colony of Skyemen followed
him, who became the progenitors of the Morrisons of Durness and
Ashir, and held these lands for several generations. The last
chieftain of these Morrisons married a daughter of Donald Ban
Matheson, of Shinness, and died without an heir. His widow,,
harshly treated after his death by his successor, escaped at night
to her father's house in Shinness, taking away with her the
charters by which the Morrisons held their lands from the succes-
sive Bishops of Caithness. She handed them, probably for a con-
sideration, to the Earl of Sutherland. Possessed of these
muniments, the p]arl claimed rent from the Morrisons. Encouraged
and supported by the Mackays, the Morrisons refused to
acknowledge the Earl as superior, much less to pay him his
demands for rent. Wearied out at length by the obstinacy of the
Morrisons, the Earl agreed, for sixty merits a year, to hand the
Morrison district over to the Mackay chief, Huistean Du-Xa Tuagh
(Black Hugh of the Battle Axe), father of the first Lord Reay.

There is a more romantic tradition connected with this Mor-
rison district, not as to its name, nor of its origin, but involving
the loss of it by the Morrisons, and the acquisition of it by the
Mackays, along with Eddrachilis, characteristic of the times. A
Mackay chief, probably Y. or Aodh Mackay, father of Huistean
Du-Xa-Tuagh, was hunting one day in the Dirrimore forest, near
Loch Stack. The custom was, while the chief and his party were
located in the hunting bothy, to make requisitions for food upon
the nearest inhabitants, many of whom of their own accord brought
whatever necessaries they could supply, such as bread, butter,
cheese, and milk. One day a handsome young woman presented
herself with such a present for the high Chief of Farr. She
captivated the Chief, who expressed a wish to detain her. The
woman, as high-minded as she was handsome, repelled the advances,
of the chief, declaring, while her husband lived, she would submit
to no dishonour to him, or to herself as his wife. Some of the
gillies were sent for the husband. On the way they slew him, cut
off his head, and brought it to the wife. Terrified of being
similarly treated, she felt obliged to remain. A son was born,.

42 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

fostered and reared by order, in the house of the Morrison chieftain.
Some years thereafter the Morrisons had contentions with the
Macleods of Eddrachilis and Assynt, resulting in disorder and
much bloodshed. The Morrisons, unable to cope with the Mac-
leods, had recourse to intrigue and assassination, and called in the
aid of the Mackays, proposing to divide Eddrachilis into two parts,
giving one-half of it to the bastard son of the Mackay chief, Donald
Balloch, brought up amongst themselves, and the son of the Mor-
rison Bathsheba, the result of the Loch Stack captivity, and the
other half to Donald Mac Mhurchaidh Mhic Ian Mhor Macleod,
who agreed to assassinate the youthful chieftain of the Eddrachilis
Macleods, and thereby open the way to take possession. A battle
became imminent. The Morrisons and Macleods gathered
for the tight, and were about to engage, when the
Mackay chief made his appearance with three hundred men.
The Macleods saw the hoplelessness of a combat, and sub-
mitted to be despoiled. The territory thus surrendered was given
to the bastard son, and Donald Macleod, for policy's sake, was
induced, in lieu of the half of Eddiachilis, which was to be his
reward, to accept of the Davoch of Hope, and the Morrison Bath-
sheba for his wife. This Macleod was the notorious Rob Roy of
Sutherland. He died at a great age, leaving by this wife seven
sons, of whom nothing is known. He was the Donald Mhic
Mhurchaidh Mhic Ian Mhor, whose epitaph is —
" Donald Mack here lies lo ;
Vas ill to his frend and var to his foe,
True to his maister in veird and vo. — 1623."
Durness, in the Sutherland charters, 1223 to 1245, is spelled
Dyrness ; in those of 1541 to 1544, Ardurness ; in 1559, Ardwr-
ness ; in 1630, Duriness ; in 1640, Dnrenish ; in 1726, Durness.
The village is still called Durine, which, with Ness, Norse for pro-
montory, forms Durin-Ness. It has been said that the derivation
of Durness is from the Gaelic word Doirain, storms, and Ness,
meaning the cape, or promontory of storms, not an inapplicable
signification. But there is another given, that its derivation is
from Du, black, and raoin, fields, pronounced and spelled Du-rine,
which would apply to the village name, and, adding Ness to this
word, it becomes Du-rin-ness, a compound of Gaelic and Norse.
But yet another derivation has been given to make it out that
the word is essentially Gaelic — Du, black, thir, gen. of tir, land,
and innis, grazing, when it becomes Du-thir-innis, the black graz-
ing land. Setting this aside as somewhat fanciful, and having
regard to the orthography of the word as given in the ancient

Sutherland Place Names. 43

charters of 1223-1245, when Bishop Gilbert Murray assigned the
district to be an appanage of Dornoch Cathedral previous to the
arrival of the Morrisons from Lewis, and, knowing that the last
syllable is " Ness," Norse term for cape, we are led to the con-
clusion that the whole word is from the Norse or Icelandic. Dyr-
ness, dyr, deer, and ness, promontory, the promontory of the
deer. Durin is also Norse, from Dyr, deer, and, inn, resort,
habitat, the resort of deer — where they came down from the hills
to graze.

Parph — Norse, hvarf, a " turning away," receding, in reference to
the appearance of the land in rounding Cape Wrath from the east, as
seen by the Norse mariners. The Cape gave the name to the
district. The Norsemen called Cape Wrath, Hvarf. The same
people named Cape Farewell in Greenland, Hvarfs-gnipa, the
peak of the receding land.

A Mhoine — Gaelic, the moss, a morass, a most applicable
name. It is entirely a moor or morass. It is the eastern division
of the parish between Loch Hope and the Kyle of Tongue.

MOUNTAINS.

An-Lean-Carn — G., leathan, broad, the broad cairn, here applied
to a mountain 1705 feet high, having the aspect of a cairn.

Ben-Hee — G., sith, peace, solitude, the mountain of solitude,
as it really is ; sith, as an adjective, means a spirit, or like a
spirit. It is a prefix in many mountain names in the Highlands.
Here it is a substantive name, and may mean fairy, the most
active spirit in Gaelic mythology. The belief in fairies is trace-
able to the early ages of British Druidism. Sith-ich, fairy,
literally means peacemaker, hence Ben-Hee may mean the
mountain of the fairies, both from its solitude and belief in its
being an abode of the tiny little creatures called Fairies.

Ben-Hope — N., so named from its being at the upper end of
Loch Hope. This mountain is the highest in the parish, 3040
feet, Ben-Hee being 2864 feet. This mountain with its imposing
precipices presents the finest mountain outline of any in Scotland.
For the definition of Hope, see Loch Hope.

Ben-Spuinne — G., spionnaidh, strength, mountain of strength,
2507 feet in height. The appellation refers to its immense size
and breadth of base.

Ben-Ceanna Beinn— G., mountain at the end of a mountain.
This mountain runs down from the interior to near the sea-shore.
Near its end is a hamlet named Ceann-na-beinn, the mountain
end, hence the name. Its end furthest from the sea is the highest,
1257 feet.

44 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Cona Mheall — G., cona is O.G., fir tree, and meall, lump,
eminence, a hill, the hill of the fir trees. At the foot of this
mountain, 1527 feet high, there is a pass named Bealach-a-Chon-
naidh, the pass of the firewood.

Cran-Stackie — G., crann, plough-shaped, and stacach, abound-
ing in precipices. Highest point, 2630 feet.

Carn Dearg — G., earn, a heap of stones, dearg, red, the
mountain of red stones or rocks.

Cnoc-Chraois — G., craos, wide opening, hill of the wide open-
ing— a large wide gap between mountains.

Creag-Carn Chaoruinn — G., rock of the rowan trees, growing
out of a pile of stones.

Foinne-bheinn — G., foinne, wrart, the wart mountain, in
reference to the several protuberances on its summit, respectively
2980, 2960, 2750 feet high. There are other mountains of the
same name in the parish, distinguished by beag and mor.

Glas-Bheinn — G., glas, grey, or faded green, the grey mountain ;.
Wei., glas, green ; Ir., glas, grey ; Arm., glas ; Corn., glas, blue,
green ; Gaelic, each glas, grey horse ; Corn., marc glas, grey
horse ; Arm., march glas, grey horse. In Radnorshire there is
Knucklas (cnoe-glas), green hill ; Manx, glas, grey. The Glas-
Bheinn is 1085 feet high.

Meall-Ceithir-Mheall — G., meall, lump, hill, ceithir, four, and
mheall. More correctly, mhill, gen. plu. of meall, hill of the four
lumps or summits.

Meallan-Liath — G., meallan, dim. of meall, and Hath, grey ;
Wei., lluyd ; Manx, leah, hoary ; Ir., Hath ; 2625 feet high. So-
called from its terminating in a conical peak or lump.

Meall-Garbh — G., rough lump, 2471 feet high. So named
from its rough lumpish summit ; Manx, garroo, uneven ; Wei.,
garw ; Corn., garou. In the Punic language garvr meant rapid.
The O.G. garv also meant rapid, as applied in the Highlands to
rapid turbulent streams and rivers, as in Garv-allt, so in the
Armonic, as in the river Garonne, Garv-amhuinn, rapid turbulent
river.

Creag-na-Faoilinn — G., faoilinn, sea gulls, rock of the sea gulls.
At the upper end of Loch Erriboll, 954 feet high.

Beinn-an-Amair — G., amair, gen. of amar, a narrow rocky
channel, in reference to a channel in the Kyle of Durness which
passes at its foot opposite Keoldale. 911 feet high.

Creag-Stuanisat — G., staoin, juniper, and aite, place, rock of
the place where jumper bushes grow. There is a lake of the
same name.

Sutherland Place Names. 45

Sabhal Mor — G. ) Uncertain. The definition may be Barn-
Sabhal Beag — G. J like, or protecting mountain.

Luirg-an-Tabhal — G., foot of the Sabhal mountain.

LAKES.

Borlay — N., bjorr, a small piece of land, and Ija, mown grass,
.or lea, in reference to a small triangular island in the lake, lake
of the small piece of mowing land, or lea land, pronounced, bora-
laidh.

Crosspuill— G., crois, crucifix, and poll, a pool, or deep stagnant
water; Wei., croes; Corn., crois; Manx, crosh ; Ir., crois; Fr.,
croix ; Lat., crux, a cross, crucifix. The ancient church of Balna-
cille stood near this lake, probably a cross or crucifix was erected
near it, hence the name lake of the cross, or pool of the cross. *

Duloch — G., du, black, and loch, lake, the black lake, in refer
ence to the very dark colour of its water. It is to be observed
that the usual place of adjectives in Celtic languages is after the
noun which it qualifies, but when greater force is meant to be con-
veyed, the adjective precedes the noun, as in this case, from the
water of this lake being very dark. In Assynt we have Loch-du,
there it is not tha water that is dark, but the surrounding moun-
tains on each side of it, which causes the lake to have a sombre
appearance. The same qualifications in certain adjectives occur
in the French as in the Celtic language, from the Gaulish idioms
being preserved.

Dion-ard — G., dion, sheltered, and ard, height, lake of the
sheltered high land. This lake gives its name to the river issuing
from it, and to the valley through which the river flows. This is
another instance of the adjective being before the noun to give it
a stronger expression.

Erriboll — N., an arm of the sea running 11 miles inland
between mountain ridges, in the shape of a tail, inducing the
supposition that the Gaelic wrord earball, tail, might be the proper
definition. It is not so ; the derivation of the word is from the
Norse. On the eastern bank of this lake was a Norse settlement,
which they named Eyrri-bo^/— eyrri, gravelly bank, and boll, a
settlement, an abode, a habitation, equivalent to the Gaelic word
"baile ;" the signification of the word therefore is the settlement
on, or near, the gravelly tongue of land, which it really is. Erri-
boll farm has now about 200 acres of plough land. Torfaeus calls
Erriboll the Gia-fiord, from the Norse words gja, a rift or chasm in
the land, and fjord, firth. He states that Haco, on his way home-

* It may be Norse, from Kross, crucifix, and polle, pond or pool.

46 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

wards from the battle of Largs, was becalmed in Gia ford, and
some of his men who had landed and gone plundering were attacked
by the u Scots " (the natives) and slain. Haco, on his southward
voyage to the battle of Largs, put in at Durness, burned more than
twenty villages, and destroyed a castle, of which we shall see more
in place names.

Hope — N., h6p, a small land-locked inlet connected with the
sea, salt at flood, fresh at ebb-tides. Such is Loch Hope ; only a
few feet above sea-level, the sea water at spring tide flows into the
lake, and recedes at ebb-tides.

Meadie — G., mend, size, big, the big-sized lake.

Polla — G., poll, pool, and ath, ford, or poll, pool, and abh, or
amh, O.G. for fluid, water, the ford at the pool, or the pools of
water, giving name to several places in Sutherland.

Sgeirach — G., lake of the rocky banks.

Ula — G., ula ; O.G., beard, bearded grass, lake of the bearded
grass.

RIVERS.

Allt-a-Mhuillinn — G., the mill stream, the stream at the mill,
or from the mill.

Allt-aphris gill — G., stream of the white bush.

Allt-a-Chraois — G., stream of the wide gap.

Allt-druim-na-droinn — G., druim, top, back ; droinn, gen. of
dronn, ridge, the stream of the ridge back.

Allt-na-Caillich — G., the stream of the old woman, or nun ;
Cailleach, old woman, or nun ; in derision, a coward. It is at the
end of Strathmore, and on its banks Rob Donn was born.

Allt-a-choir-ghrannda — Coire, a circular hollow, a mountain dell,
and grannda, ugly ; Wei., gwrthan, the ugly dell ; Scot., corrie ;
Manx, correy.

Allt-nan-eithreag — G., eithreag, cloudberry, stream of the
cloudberries.

Allt-na-feithe-buidhe — G., stream of the yellow bog; feithe,
bog ; buidhe, yellow.

Allt-an-easain-ghil — G., easan, dim ; of eas, waterfall ; and ghil,
dim ; and gen. of geal, white, stream of the white little waterfall,
in reference to the colour of the rock being limestone ; Ir. , geal ;
Manx, gial ; Gr., gala, milk ; Wei., gwyn, white, fair.

Allt-a-gharbh-alt — G., the rough rapid stream, with high banks ;
alt, high bank or precipice.

Allt-poll-na-damph — G., the stream of the pool of the stags,
where they were wont to come to drink ; damph, ox, or stag.

Sutherland Place Names. 47

Amhuinn Stra-choir-'an-easaich — G., the river in the valley
of the mountain dell, abounding in waterfalls ; Amhuinn or Am-
hainn, river ; Stra, valley ; coire, mountain dell ; easaich, full of
waterfalls.

Amhuinn-na-buaigheal du — G., buaigheal du, black ragwort
or groundsel, river of the black ragwort ; query, Buaile du, black
tank.

Amhuinn Chreabhaig — G , takes its name from Loch Cearbaig,
corruption of seamraig, shamrock, river of the shamrocks. See
Cearbaig in place names.

Amhuinn-na-Claigionaich — G., claigion, skulls, river of the
skulls, in reference to the skull-shaped hills amongst which the
river winds, and from which its various branches rise. Claiginn is
common in hill names, very descriptive.

Amhuinn Dionard — See the lake of same name.

Amhuinn-gleann-gollie — G., gleann, glen ; gollie = goill or
gaill, plu. of gall, a stranger, or any foreigner who does not speak
Gaelic, was so termed, the glen of the strangers. Rob Bonn calls
this glen " Gleann gallaidh nan craobh." This glen is not far from
the head of Loch Erriboll. It was probably into this glen that
Haco's men made a foray when becalmed in Loch Erriboll for
provisions, taking everything they could seize and carry away.
By the side of Loch Erribcll is a stone called " leac-a-bho," which
tradition relates was the stone upon which Haco ordered the
cattle to be slaughtered. Haco's men did not escape unpunished.
The natives gathered together, attacked the Norwegians, slew
many of them, and hastened Haco's departure. It is possible that
this glen, ever after that incident, may have been called " Gleann-
na-goill," the glen of the foreigners. Sutherland people still call
the people of Caithness to this day " Gallaich." Gallaich has
become Gaily, or Gallic, a surname in Ross-shire, fugitives from
Caithness, when the Gunns were expelled, who obtained asylum in
Ross, chiefly about Tain, and adopted the surname Gaily, or Gallic.

ISLANDS, CAPES, BAYS.

Garvellan — G., an-garbh-eilean, the rough island, 1077 feet
above sea level.

Cleit du — G. and N., cleit, rugged height, precipiece, and du,
black ; N. klettr, cliff, equally applicable. This is an instance of
a Gaelic and Norse word, signifying the same aspect, probably
adopted from the Norse, though seemingly common to both. There
are many such instances.

A Chleit — G. and N., the rugged height, or cliff, in Balnacille

48 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Cas-leac — G., cas leac, contorted stone, island of the contorted
flat stones ; Ir., leac ; Manx, Ihec, plu. Ihic ; Wei., llech ; Corn,
lech ; Arm., lech ; flat-stone, flag.

I Ghoil — I is Norse, from ey, an island, ghoil, boiling, the
island of the boiling, in reference to the boiling of the waves,
meeting from different directions at the isle.

I Ghoil sgeir — I, island as above, ghoil, boiling, and sgeir,
rock hidden at high tide, waves breaking and boiling over it.

Hoan — N., hvoan, the plant angelica, much esteemed by the
Norse for flavouring ale ; they found the plant here, and so named
the island, which is fertile and green. It was inhabited till within
recent years. It contains an ancient burying place, 83 feet above
sea level.

Choarie — This is the name given in ancient charters ; it is
•situated in Loch Erriboll, has excellent herbage. Its signification
is uncertain ; if its derivation be from Norse, it may signify " the
fold island," from kviar, a fold, and ey, island, the k pronuncia-
tion being obliqued by the natives to ch. Cattle were wont to be
swam to the island, both for keep and protection. In the island
they were as safe as in a fold. In modern maps,- this island is
named An-poir-eilean, which is Gaelic, fromcorra, a heron; its significa-
tion then would be "the heron island." This island had also a
burying place in it. It has been said that the coast inhabitants
preferred in ancient times to bury the dead on islands along the
•coast for protection from the wolves. Choarie, or, An-corra-eilean,
is entirely composed of limestone, and 74 feet above sea level.

Cluimh-Beig — G., Cluimh, or cloimh, wool, down, and breac,
speckled, the island of speckled, downy, or soft grass.

C16-Mor — N., from klofi ; N., for cleft in a rock, and mor, G.,
the big cleft.

Stac-clo-chearbaig — N. and G., stac, from staki, N., like a hay
stack ; clo, N., cleft as above, and cearbag, place name near the
stack at the cleft, near Cearbaig.

Gualinn-a chairn — G., gualinn, shoulders ; chairn, gen. of
€arn, heap of stones or rocks, shoulders of the cairn, in reference
to a projection of Far-out-head.

Far-out-head, Fair-head — N.,/or«c7, dangerous place or preci-
piece.

Gob-nan-leac — G., gob, beak, or snout-like ; leac, flat or flag-
stone, another projecting point of the Far-out-head, indicating
•difference in stratification.

Sean-chaisteal — G., old castle, long ago in ruins, probably the

Sutherland Place Names. 49

one destroyed by Haco, in his voyage southwards to Largs in 1263.
The history, by Torfaeus, of that expedition relates " that here
were burnt 20 hamlets, and a castle demolished." The ruins of
this castle are on a point of land called the " Adag Mhor," half
a-mile from Durness, less distance from Balna-cille. The ruins
of the castle or fort, standing to view like an adag (a small stack
of corn in a field), rnay have given the name "Adag" to the
immediate locality.

Pocan, Smoo — G., pocan, a little bag, in reference here to a
bag-like entrance to the Smoo ravine.

Poll-a-chait fhiadhaich — G., pool of the wild cat ; this proves
that wild cats existed in Durness, as in other parts of Sutherland.

An du-sgeir — G., the black rock ; sker., N., rock in the sea.

Sgeir leathan — G.. the broad rock.

Bagh-geisgeach — G., bagh, bay; geisgeach, the name of the
river falling into the bay, signifying rushing, roaring sound, the
bay of the roaring noise or sound.

Bagh chearbaig — G., bay, and cearbaig, query, seamraig, the
shamrock, near Loch an t-Seamraig, and

Geodha-na-searnraig — G., geodha, geotha, geothadh, and geo,
creek, cove, and seamrag, shamrock or trefoil, the creek of the
shamrocks. See Cearbuig in place names.

Geodha-na-gobhlachan Duibhe — G. geo, creek ; gobhlachan,
prongs, forks, splits, clefts in rock ; and du, black ; in reference
to the creek dividing itself into limbs like forks ; gobhlachan,
swallows.

Geodha-ruadh-na-fola — G., the red creek of blood, probably so
named from the blood shed there in opposing a landing of the
Norsemen.

Geodha-glas — G., the hoary creek, in reference to the tint of
the rocks.

Geodha-sligach — G., the shelly creek, a creek in which shells
abound.

Rispond— G., rudha, promontory ; and spuinn, plunder, pro-
bably so named from Norse times, when those pirates landed there
from their ships, plundered the inhabitants, and made off with the
spoils to the point, and sailed away. On this coast are many a
rudha, all indicative of their aspect, as

Ceann-Geal — G., the White head, now termed the Whi ten-
head, a bold promontory east side of Loch Erriboll, entirely com-
posed of stratified lime stone, 935 feet high. In its sea face are
remarkable caves.

50 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

PLACE NAMES.

Achu more — G., achadh-mor, big field.

Allt-na-caillich — G., Rob Bonn's birth-place in 1714. (See
river names).

Bad-na-guine — G., bad-na-cuingean, bad, thicket ; cuingeaii,
narrow channels or straits ; the thicket of the straits ; bad, croft,
or toft.

Bal-na-kill — G., baile, dwelling ; na, gen. of the art. an ; and
cill, cell ; Culdee place of worship, or burying ; Wei., cyl,
kiln ; Manx, ceeil, church ; Ir., cill ; Corn., cil and eel ; Latin,
cella ; Swiss, cilch, church. The Culdees established a place of
worship here. In Roman Catholic times there was a kind of
monastery at Balnacill, the ruins of which may still be seen. Here
was the summer residence of the bishop of Caithness, and here,
too, was the summer residence of the Lords of Reay.

Balvolich — G., baile-mhullaich, the higher township, or the
township on the height.

Balnamuic — G., baile, and muic, swine, place of swine, or
where swine were kept by the inhabitants ; muic, gen. of muc, a
pig ; Manx, muc and muck, pi. mucyn ; Wei., mochyn, pi. moch,
pigs, swine ; Corn., moch ; Ir., moc, muc.

Bealach-a-chonnaidh — G., bealach, a pass between two hills, a
defile ; chonnaidh, gen. of connadh, fuel, firewood. In ancient
times wood was abundant ; it was the fuel before moss was used.
There were large forests everywhere in Durness in pre-Norse times.

Bealach-na-h-imrich — G., bealach, as above ; imrich, flitting,
change of abode ; the pass of the Sittings, in reference to the track
taken in flitting and carrying away household goods.

Bealach-na-meirlich — G., meirlich, pi. of meirleach ; the pass
of the thieves, in reference to the track taken by cattle-lifters.

Cadha-na-bencaich — G., cadha, a narrow pass ; btncaich, roar-
ing, bellowing ; the pass of the bellowing, in reference to deer.

Carrachan du — G., carrachan, wild liquorice roots, and du,
black ; the place of the wild black liquorice roots, as Carra-Mheille
(Carmel), in Palestine, Carmylie, in Forfar.

Ceanna-bin — G., ceann, head ©r end, and beinn, end of the
mountain ; Wei., pen, head, or end ; here it is a place name, in
reference to its situation at the mountain end.

Cearbhaig — G., carbhaig, dim. of the O.G. word carbh, a
small ship ; still retained in the Fr. word corvette, a small ship of
war, of less size than a frigate ; in reference to the Norse ships
casting anchor, or at anchor, in the adjoining bay, Bagh-a-Chear
bhaig. Within half a mile of the bay and the ancient hamlet, is

Sutherland Place Names. 51

Geodba-na-Seamraig and Loch-na-Seamraig (the creek and lake of
the shamrocks). Query, which is the proper derivation of one and
the other.

Dail — G., a field bounded by a river; very frequently used in
Highland topography ; WeL, dal, a dale, a meadow through which
a river runs ; Norse, dalr, dolr, a dale ; Swed., Dan., Du., dal ;
Corn., Arm., dol.

Erribol — Norse, see lake name, Arnaboll ; Norse, arnar, per-
taining to an eagle ; boll, residence, in reference to resorts of the
eagle being near.

Durine — G., du-raoin, black plains or fields ; said to be in
reference to the difference in the appearance of the soil in the west
side from that of the east side of the township, the one being
sandy, the other being peaty, or black. An excellent Gaelic
scholar contends for this definition, or at anyrate suggests it. (See
ante, in district names).

Durness — See ante, in district names.

Gob-an-uisgich — G., gob, a point, bill, snout, and uisgidh, plu.
of uisge, water ; the point of land or water at which the water of
streams or rivers conjoin and commingle. This expressive
topographical word is found more than once in Sutherland as
applied to the meeting of waters at a common point, and is a
third way of describing confluence of waters, instead of Aber or
Inver, about which so much contention has arisen as to their
relative definition and real signification. Gob, beak or bill, here
comes in to describe the same aspect and effect, and does not
settle the controversy. The gob may apply to the point of land
at the meeting of those waters, or may mean the point of the
actual confluence of the waters themselves. Gob, in Sutherland,
refers to a place name situated on or near the point of land caused
by the meeting of waters from different directions.

Hope — N. (see lake names). Loch Hope gives its own name
to the river issuing from it ; to the grand mountain at its upper
end ; the river to the township situated on its right bank ; also to
Inver Hope, situated at its confluence with the sea.

Heilim — N., oblique case of, Holmr ; N., islet or peninsula in
a river, lake, or bay. Farther down, on the same side of Loch
Erriboll, is Beinn Heilim, signifying the mountain in the peninsula,
formed by Loch Erriboll and Loch Hope and River Hope.

Keoldale — Definition uncertain, whether Gaelic or Norse. N.,
kaldr, cold, and dalr, dal, or dale, cold dale ; G., caol, narrow, and
dail, dale, narrow dale ; or G., caolas, kyle, strait, and dail, dale,
Kyle-dale, thence Kealdale, as it is pronounced by the natives.

52 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Here a difference of opinion may arise. Let it be observed that
when the word dal or dale becomes in Highland topography an
affix, especially in coast place names, the probability is that the
first syllable may be of 'foreign origin, as in Helmsdale, Arniadale,
Torrisdale, which are essentially of Norse origin, and when the
word dal finds its place as a prefix the whole is of Gaelic
origin, as Dalwhinnie (the place of the meeting), Dalmore, Dalbeg,
Dalriabhaich, descriptive of known or unknown events, size, and
aspect. In this word Keoldale, the dal being an affix, a Norse
origin may be assigned to it.

Leirin — G., leth, half, and raoins, fields, plains, divided into
two. Allt-Smoo divides the locality into Leirin bheag and
Leirin mhor; leth raoin, half the plain.

Lone — G., Ion, meadow, this place is called An Lon, the
meadow, from its being alone — a meadow among the mountains
near Loch Stack.

Kinloch — G., Ceann-loch, head of the lake, or tide in a bay.

Mhoine — G., see ante, in district names.

Musal — N., from mosi, moss, or moorland, and fiall, or fell,,
moss-covered highland ; mosi-fell, mossfell, Musal, in Strathmore,.
or anciently Strath-urradal, from a Norse commander, supposed to
be one of Haco's captains, having been killed in the Strath with
several of his men when on a plundering excursion.

Rispond — See ante, in islands, capes, bays.

Sango-Mor : Sango-beg — Sango, contraction 'of N., Sandr,.
Sand, and Gja, geo, creek, Sanda-geo, the sandy shored creek ; mor
and beag, Gaelic. The two creeks are about a mile apart ; the
Gaelic adjectives distinguish their relative size.

Whiten-Head — Anglicised from a literal translation of Ceann-
geal, a remarkable cape in the parish of Durness, eastside of Loch
Erriboll (see cape names, ante). In the description given of
Whiten-Head respecting the caves in its face and sides, one
deserves particular mention. It is locally named " Uamh Mhor
Fhresgill," the great cave of Fresgill. It "is said to extend more
than half a mile under ground, and to be 50 feet high and 20 feet
wide at the entrance, gradually diminishing till at last a man can
scarcely creep along it. Its sides are variegated with many
colours, lost in each other with a delicacy and softness that no art
can excel. Upon entering the cave, the niind is impressed with
pleasing awe, heightened by the solemn gloominess of the light,
the clang of sea birds that nestle in it, and the mournful dashing
of the waves against the adjacent rocks. Numbers of seals are
found in it.

Sutherland Place Names. 53

EDDRACHILIS.

"Stranger, if e'er thy ardent steps have traced

The northern realm of ancient Caledon,

Where the proud green of wilderness has placed,

By lake and cataract, her lonely throne,

Sublime and stern delight thy soul has known,

Gazing in pathless glens and mountains high,

List'ing where from the cliffs the torrents thrown

Mingle their echoes with the eagle's cry,

With the sounding lake, and with the roaring sky,

'Tis known amid the pathless waste of Reay.';

Eddrachilis is reputed to be the wildest and most rugged
parish in Scotland. Its inland parts are the haunts of the deer
and the eagle. Its aspect from the sea is a vast group of
mountains, whose summits are enveloped in clouds, divided from
one another by deep and narrow glens, whose declivities are so
steep and rugged as to be dangerous to the traveller unattended
by a guide. The mountains are giants. Such a magnificent
panorama of mountains can hardly be surpassed. Ben Stack looks
like an enormous pyramid rising to a point. Like Assynt, its
lakes are innumerable, a veritable network, covering nearly 8000
acres, out of an area of 144,600 acres. Its rivers abound with
salmon. Its lakes, with trout of various kinds.

Anciently the district was divided into three parts, Eddrachilis,
between the Kyle Sku and Loch Laxford ; the Ceathramh Garbh,
between the Laxford and the river Inchard ; and Ashir, or Fas-
thir, beyond the Inchard.

The parish name, as to its origin and definition, is, to the
Gaelic student, self-evident.

Eddra-cliilis — G., eadar-da-chaolais, between two kyles.

Ceathramh-garbh — G., rough quarter, the district between the
lakes and rivers Laxford and Inchard. It is rightly so named from
its ph}7sical aspect, unfit for the habitation of man, except on the
south shore of the Inchard.

Ashir, mhor — G., contracted from Fas-thir, meaning productive,
or cultivable land, in contradistinction to the " Ceathramh-garbh,"
rough quarter, adjoining. It lies to the north of the Inchard lake
and river. The district has cultivable land in it. The Ceathramh-
garbh has none beyond the strip bordering on the Inchard south
shore. Ashir has been variously spelled in charters, as Aslar,
Astlair, Ashlair. It is now corrupted into " Old shore" more,
"Old shore" beg.

54 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

MOUNTAIN NAMES.

Beinn-a-bhutha — G., butha, a cot, or bothy, or hut. Mountain
of the hut, no doubt, for deer-hunting ; 1777 feet high.

Beinn Hee — G., hee, oblique case of sith, tranquility, solitude,
mountain of the solitude ; 2864 feet high.

Beinn leoid — G., from Leoid, a man's name, who frequented it
for the chase and hunting, or from leothad-leud, breadth ; 2597
feet high.

Beinn stack — G. and N., stakkr, like a stack, appropriate to
the aspect of this mountain ; G., stac, high hill, rising like a
pyramid. In Ireland such aspect is compared to cruach, Ir.,
croagh, stack of corn-like mountain ; 2365 feet high.

Beinn dearg Mor — G., dearg, red, and mor, big ; the big red
mountain ; 1527 feet high.

Beinn auskaird — G., ausk, asca, snake, and airde, a quarter ;
the quarter or district of the snakes ; 1265 feet high.

Beinn Strome — G. and W., takes its name from the adjoining
strait ; N., stromr, a stream or current; 1374 feet high. See Kyle-
strome, post • Eng. equivalent, stream.

Creag-riabhach — G., riabhach, brindled, the brindled rock ;
1592 feet high ; the summit has rocky brindled cliffs, hence the
name.

Cnoc-na-glaic-tarsuinn — C., cnoc, hill ; glaic, defiles ; tarsuinn,
across, hill of the cross defiles ; 1000 feet high.

Cnoc-odhar — G., the dun hill.

Cnoc-gorm-mor — G., the big blue hill.

Farr mheall — G., faire, watching, and meall, round-shaped hill,
the watch or sentinel hill ; 1709 feet high.

Meall-na-moine — G., meal, as above, and moine, moss, bog ;
Wei., mawn ; Arm., mawdew, the mossy hill, or the hill in the
moss ; 1592 feet high.

Meallan-liath — G., Meallan, dim. of meall, and Hath, grey ;
Wei., lluyd, grey ; the little grey hill.

Sail-mhor — G., sail, keel, and mor, the big heel, of the Arcuil
(arkle) mountain ; Arcuil, G., earrgheal, the white-tailed falcon or
eagle, the mountain of the white-tailed eagle. It is said the deer
on this mountain have white forked tails.

LAKE NAMES.

Loch Mor — G., the big lake.

Loch-na-claise carnach — G., clais, hollow ; carnach, rocky, lake
of the rocky hollow.

Sutherland Place Names. 55

Loch Stack — G. and N., the mountain Stack gives its name to
the lake, being adjoining.

Loch Laxford — N., lax, salmon, fiord, an arm of the sea ; G.
name, luis-ard, luis herbs, ard, height ; N., salmon firth ; G.,
height of the herbs or plants.

Loch Inchard — G., innis, flat land, ard, height. ; height of the
flat land, or high flat land.

Loch Sandwood — N., Sandr, sand, vatn, water, or lake, the
sandy lake. It lies near the sea-shore.

Loch crocach — G., branched, like the fingers of the hand ; N.,
kroka, crooked, both applicable to the aspect of this lake.

Loch-an-tigh-sheilg — G., lake of the hunt-house or hunting-
house.

Loch-an-fhionn-leathad — G., lake of the fair or white slope.

Loch-na-h-airbhe — G., airbhe, produce or productiveness, the
productive lake, in reference to its fishing properties.

Loch-bhad-daraich — G., lake of the oak thicket.

Loch-na-tuaigh — G., lake of the axe.

Loch-bhar-locha — G , lake in the summit, in the vicinity of
others.

Loch-gharbh-bhaid-mhor — G., the rough lake of the big thicket.

Loch-na-gainimh — G., gaineamh, sand ; the sandy shore lake.

Loch-na-h-ealaidh — G., ealaidh, swans ; lake of the swan.

Loch-na-claise — G., lake of the hollow ; it is an arm of the sea
entering between hills, then widening to form the hollow.

Loch-a-chraisg — G., crasg ; crossway through hills.

Loch-innis-nam-ba buidhe — Lake of the meadow of the yellow
kine ; Wei., bwch ; Gr., bo ; Fr., vache ; Lat., vacca.

Loch-uidh-an-tuim — Uidh, slow flowing water, as seen at ends
of lakes before it reaches the stream channel, and tuim, pi. of torn,
round knoll, lake of the slow flowing water passing the knolls.
Uidh also means a ford in smooth water ; Wei., Gwy, hence Wye,
Wey, rivers in England, smooth flowing water. Tom, G. ; torn,
Wei. ; tumb, Arm. ; tumulus, Lat. ; tumbus, Gr.

Loch-cul-uidh-an-tuim — G., lake at the back of Uidh-an-tuim.

RIVER NAMES.

Inchard — G., see lake names.

Laxford — G. and N., see lake names.

Maldie — G., meall, round topped hill, and du, black ; the hill
gives the name to the river or stream.

An Earrachd — G., earrachd, narrow strip of land, that gives
its name to the river.

56 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Allt-achadh-na-fairidh — G., see Achadh-na-fairidh, place names.

Allt-mor-gisgeil — Allt, stream, nior, big, and geisgeil, roaring
—the big roaring stream ; N., gjosa, gushing, gil, ravine, tho
gushing ravine ; in reference to the stream rushing through a
gorge or ravine.

Allt-an-lon bhan — G., stream of the white or fair meadow.

Allt-nan lu-bhain — G., allt, stream, luib, ben-i, and bhain,
gen. pi. of ban, fair, white — stream of the wrhite bends.

All t-an-t-Stra than — G., srath, valley, srathan, dim. — stream of
the little valley.

Allt-nan-Ramh — G., ramh, oar, tree, wood ; O.G., trees, wood —
stream of the trees ; probably from the fact of oars being made
from the trees growing by this river.

Garbh-Allt — G., common name of streams in the Highlands,
garbh, rough; Wei., garw ; Arm., garv ; Corn., garoxv ; Phen.,
garv, rapid ; O.G., garv, is rapid ; hence the Garonne in France.
Garv-an, or garv-umhainn, the rapid flowing river.

ISLAND NAMES.

Handa — G., is said to be aon-dath, of one colour. It is more
probably N., from its geological formation, sandi, sanda — sand, and
ey, island. It consists of sandstone in highly inclined strata,
rising rapidly to a height of 406 feet at the " Sithean Mor," N.W.
end, whence it breaks sheer down into the sea, presenting a con-
tinuous series of almost perpendicular cliffs. In these cliffs are
seen striking features of ledge and fissure, which form a most
imposing piece of rock scenery as is anywhere to be met with
round British shores. An enormous perforation reaches down to
the level of the sea, which sweeps through it at the ebb and flow
of the tides. Thousands of sea fowl haunt its cliffy, and build
their nests in the crevices. The " Sithean Mor" (big grassy knoll),
the supposed haunt of fairies, commands a grand view of the lofty
seaboard of the mainland from Khu-stor in Assynt, to Eilean an
roin beg (the little isle of seals), north of Loch Inchard. The
Sound of Handa, little more than a quarter of a mile wide,
separates the island from the mainland. The island from E. to W.
measures 1J miles, and from N. to S. 1 mile. Here, at the
beginning of the 17th century, lived the noted Ian-beg Mhic
Dho'ill Mhic Huistean, of the Assynt Macleods, a man of low
stature, but of uncommon strength, and matchless skill in arms.
He kept a war galley of his own, ready for any enterprise. By
him was slain the famous Judge Morrison of the Isles with six of
his men, in revenge of the supposition of the judge's being

Sutherland Place Names. 57

accessory to the death of the young chief of the Lewis. Ian-beg
immediately afterwards went to Lewis and married the judge's
widow. The judge's clansmen came to Assynt with a galley to
convey his body to Lewis for interment. When on the way, with
the body on board, a storm arose which forced them to take
shelter in an island on the coast of Eddrachilis, and there they
buried the body, after taking out his heart. The wind soon after
changing, they returned home safely. This island, from the above
circumstance, has since been named

Eilean a Bhriu — G., the island of the judge (breitheamh).

Eilean a Chalva Mor — G., calbh, headland, island of the big
headland.

Eilean a Chalva Beg — G., calbh, headland, island of the small
headland.

Eilean na Bearachd — G., bearradh, an abrupt ascent, a pre-
cipice, the island having a precipitous ascent.

Eilean an Rainich — G., raineach fern, island of the fern ; Wei.,
rhedyn ; Manx, rhennagh.

Eilean an Roin Moir — G., the large seal island.

Eilean an Roin Beg — G., the small seal island.

Eilean na Clobhsaidh — G., clobhsa, small passage ; islands with
small channels between.

Eilean na Comhnuidh — G., habitation, an island having a
dwelling in it.

Eilean a Mhadaidh — G., madadh, dog ; Manx, moddey.

Eilean Ard — G., high island.

PLACE NAMES.

Achlyness — G., Achadh, field, linne, pool, and eas, cascade, the
field of the cascade pool; Wei., llyn; Arm., lin ; Ir., linn; Gr.,
limen, a pool.

Ach-lochaii — G., Achadh, and lochan, lakes, field near the lakes.

Achreisgill — G., Achadh, and riasgail, marshy, moory, heathy,
the moory field.

Ach-Fary — G., Achadh, and faire, height, field of the height.

Ardmore — G., the great height.

Bad-cal — G., bad, boat, and cala, harbour. There are three
places of this name in the parish, similarly situated, one north
side of the Inchard, one on the Laxford, the other on a bay ; each
is situated on an arm of water jutting into the land in the form
of a harbour ; or Bad, grove, call, hazel — the hazel grove.

Badnabay — G., bad, grove, beith, birch ; birch grove.

58 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Balchreick — G., baile, township, and cnuic, hillocks ; the town-
ship of the hillocks ; or baile and craig, rocks.

Blair More — G., blar, field, plain, moor, and mor, big; the big
plain, or big moor.

Droman — G., dim. of droma, ridge ; Manx, dreem ; Wei., tram;.
Gr., drom-os, ridge.

Druimnaguie — G., druim, or droma, ridge ; and gaoith, gen. of
gaoth, wind ; windy ridge.

Du-ard — Black height ; Duart, in Mull.

Eilear-a-Mhill — Eileir, lonely place among the hills.

Findle-More — G., fionn, fair, and dail, dale, field ; the big fair
field or dale ; Manx, dayll ; Tr., dail ; Wei., dol ; Corn., dal ; Arm.,
dol ; Ice. or Norse, dal.

Gualen — G., gualainn, the shoulders, in reference to the aspect
of the mountains near the place.

Feinag More — G., feannag, a ridge of land ; the big ridge of
land.

Inch-Egra — G., innis, flat-land, seighear ; O.G., falconer, and
rath, a circle, a fort, a plain or cleared spot ; the flat-land of the
falconer's fort or round house.

Kinlochbervie — Ceann, head, loch, lake, bervie, corrupted from
na ba buidhe, head of the lake of the yellow kine.

Old Shore — G., corruption of Ashir, or Fas-thir, which see.

Polin — G., corruption of Pollan, dim. of poll, a pond, a pool, or
marsh, giving the name to the locality. Manx, poyll, pool, puddle.
Wei., pwll, pool. Corn., pol. Arm., pol, pool.

Portlevorchy — G., port, ferry, haven, levorchy, to Murdoch, or
Murdoch's, Murdoch's port. On this coast is a place called
Acarachd Mhic Mhurchaidh Oige, signifying the anchorage of
young Murdoch's sons, where the Lewis Murdoch Macleods were
wont to cast anchor and land. G., acair, anchor, acairafchd, anchor-
age ; Manx, aker ; Wei., angor ; Corn., ankar ; Arm., enhor ; Fr.,.
aucre ; Ital., ancora ; Gr., agkur-a, anchor.

Rhiconich — G., rhi, or ruigh, slope, or declivity, coinnich, meet,
the meeting of the slopes or declivities at the end of Loch Inchard,.
or coinich, moss, the mossy slopes ; Rhi enters largely into Highland
topography, especially in Sutherland ; it appears frequently in
Welsh, meaning slope; as rhiw; Manx, roie, run.

Rhi-voult — G., rhi, slope, voult, corrupted, from mhuilt, gen. pL
of muilt, wether the slope of the wether sheep, correctly Rhi-a-
mhuilt; Wei., mollt, pi. my lit; Lat., mult, a fine, a penalty. Fines
and penalties in the earlier stages of society were frequently
inflicted in kind. A certain number of sheep was the

Unpublished Literary Remains of the Reay Country. 59

fine, hence the word mulct. Satisfaction for injuries used to be
arranged by a fine of so many sheep. It was common among the
Romans, see Aulus Gellius, book llth, chap. 1 ; see Grant's
" Thoughts on the Gael."

Scourie — N., Skorrie, bird, and ey as used in local names, ea, ey,
Chels-ea, Cherts-ey, place of birds, places \vhere birds resorted to.
Near Scourie Bay are Scourie and Scourie More, within two miles
of Handa Island, whose cliffs are inhabited by birds innumerable.

Skerricha — G., sgeir, a rock, and achadh, a field — the field of
the rock. N., sker, an isolated rock in the sea.

Sandwood — W., see the lake names, anciently "Sand wat."

Tarbat — G., Tarbert, a neck of land (O'Reilly), tar-bat, a place
where boats are drawn across an isthmus, from tar, root of tarruing,
draw, and bad, boat.

Eddrachilis parish has few antiquities. There are Pictish or
Norse towers at Kylesku and Scourie, Druidical stones at Bad-
nabay.

llth DECEMBER, 1889.

The paper for this evening was contributed by the Rev. Adam
Gunn, Durness, entitled "Unpublished Literary Remains of the
Reay Country." Mr Gunn's paper was as follows : —

UNPUBLISHED LITERARY REMAINS OF THE REAY
COUNTRY.

With the single exception of Rob Donn, the writer is not aware
that the labours of any Reay country bard ever acquired general
currency. It is not, however, to be supposed that this arose from
lack of material. The Reay country was always rich in song. The
conditions for producing a pastoral literature were nowhere more
favourable than here ; and, owing to the close and friendly
relations between chiefs and clansmen of the Mackay country, it
would have been difficult to find in the land a more cultured
peasantry than this region could furnish some two hundred years
ago. The principles of the Reformation were adopted at an early
date, and were nowhere carried out with greater thoroughness.
The clansmen, under the leadership of Hugh Mackay, their chief,
embraced to a man the reformed faith ; and ever since his day the

60 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Barons of Reay made it their aim to secure for their countrymen
the services of the ablest and most enlightened ministers. In
this way it was no unusual thing to find men who had not only
passed through the Scottish Universities, but who had also drank
deeply at the Continental seats of learning, labouring in the wilds
of Reay. As an immediate result of this religious and intellectual
revival, a great deal of our native literature assumed the form of
religious poetry. Specimens of this exist in Macrae's MS., in the
possession of Mr Skene, but the bulk of it has unquestionably
disappeared. It is well known that Dugald Buchanan was first
induced to try religious song on hearing the poems of a certain
John Mackay recited by a company of Sutherlandshire Militia
stationed in Uannoch.

Again, by the wars of Gustavus Adolphus, a powerful impetus
was given to the poetic faculty of the Reay country bards. Sir
Donald, first Lord Reay, spared neither men nor money in the
cause of freedom. As successive bands of these soldiers of fortune
left their native glens, it is only natural to suppose that their
virtues and prowess should become the theme of song. A wide
field was opened up to the imagination of our native bards, and
stories of fabulous wealth acquired in " the Hollands" soon began
to circulate in prose and poetry. It is needless to say that only
snatches of this fugitive literature have come down to our day.

A third condition, favourable to the development of song, is
to be found in the life of " the Sheiling," which played so pro-
minent a part in the social and domestic economy of the Highlands.
The Sheiling in the summer months, and the Ceilidh in the winter,
were the literary societies of that day, and what was produced at
the Sheiling was consumed at the Ceilidh, in the mental no less
than in the material sphere. The Sheiling was the nursery-ground
of the love-song. There arj many remains of this period and
phase of Highland life still surviving, and your Society is doing
excellent service in the collection and publication of such materials.
Traditions of this ideal life are still current among us ; and the
writer has heard on. more occasions than one songs and legends
which savour strongly of the Sheiling-bothy. There is, for
example, the legend of "Amhlaidh na Casaidh," which had its
origin in this fruitful imaginative period. Aulaidh was an
unfortunate woman, who became demented, and, like Nebuchad-
nezzar, betook herself to the hills and r<>;imed with the deer. On
one occasion she led the herd to what formerly was her own corn-
field ; but her eldest son, getting tired of the raids made upon his

Unpublished Literary Remains of the Reay Country. 61

farm, hounded them furiously away. On this Aulaidh made the
impromptu —

" Fhir a thog an t-iolach ard,

'S chuir coin a' bhaile 'mo larg,

Dh' 61 thu bainne mo dha chich

'S laidh thu naoi miosachan mo bhalg."

Aulaidh was by no means purged of malice. She frequently tried
to do mischief in the dead hour of night to her household; but a
wakeful guardian, in the shape of an "coileach dubh." always
anticipated her, and scared her away by his crowing : —

" A Choilich dhuibhe, a bhroillich dheirge
Is math thu fhein, is binn do ghuth
'N uair thainig mi, mo rnheadhon oidhche
S 'e m' eunan fhein a chum mi muigh."

Possibly to this period may be traced the following story, to
be met with in one form or another throughout Sutherlandshire : —
A party of half-a-dozen hunters were benighted on one occasion in
a wrild and lonely glen. They lighted at length on a sheiling-
bothy, and having secured their horses for a night in the " bual,"
they proceeded to light a fire, and cook a supper frcm the product
of the chase. This over, they one and all expressed their regret
that their lady-loves were not present to enjoy the fun, when,
suddenly, their trooped in one by one their lady friends, and sat
each one upon her lover's knee. The night passed merrily in song.
One of the young men, having occasion to stoop down for some-
thing which .had dropped from him, discovered to his dismay that
his partner was provided with the uncanny " hoof" instead of
feet. He kept the seeret to himself, secured leave to have a look
at the horses for a little, and forthwith galloped away. It was
not a moment too soon. The baobh was soon on his track, but
being wrell mounted 011 an " Each donn, deas-mhuingeach," and
followed by a " Cu dubh, bus-bhuidheach," he managed to make
good his escape. He returned in the morning in search of his
companions, but he found the bothy with its inmates burned to-
the ground.

It was, however, in the department of love-songs that shotting-
life was most productive ; and more than one records the progress of
love-making during the season. From these it would appear that
the virtues most highly valued in the Reay country maids of the
sheiling were hospitality, early rising, and expertness in managing -
dairy produce.

62 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

When the economic changes of the latter half of the last
centuiy, and the early years of the present, took place, the decline
of pastoral poetry began. So long as the Reay country was in
possession of the ancient and hereditary chiefs, there always existed
a certain amount of patronage of the Bards ; but when it passed
into the hands of the Sutherland family, who were reckoned
Sassenachs, this patronage ceased, and the clearances of the interior
effectually stemmed the lyric stream which had flowed for
centuries. "The old order change th," and giveth place to the
new ; but it would appear that with the change of ownership the
Muses departed from the Reay country, and the bards " hanged
their harps upon the willows." When the estate changed hands,
and the Foresters of the Reay Country were summoned to Tongue
to swear fealty to their new master, it is clear from the following
song that the change was by no means to their taste. The
-anthor — Huistean Oag — was an old servant of Eric, Lord Reay,
and 'resided in the Reay Forest : —

Anns an fhaghair so chaidh,
Ghabh mi turns no dha mu'n cuairt
Is thachair dhomh oidhch' bhi' mo thamh
Measg cuideachd is tabhurn sluaigh.

Air dhomh bhi air leth-taobh learn fhein
'S mi 'gamhairc gach ni mu'n cuairt ;
Dhearc mi air craobh a mhasguil*
'S 'i fas gu geagach suas.

N' am b' ami le iomairt nan lann

Theidheadh tus thoir dhachaigh da Thunga a ris

Dh' fhagtadh Cataich gle ghann

'S cha bhitheadh Sasunnach fad 's an tir.

'Nuair a dh'eireadh na seoid
Sliochd Iain Aberich mhor mhic-aoidh
Sliochd Dhomh'1-ic Corchie-ic-Leoid,
Chuireadh coigrich fa choir 's fo chis.

Dheagh Strath-namhair nam buadh,

Na fir thapaidh d'am bu dual a bhi treun,

Is Strath-Halladail, a bha glinn

'N am tarruing nan lann 's nan streup.

* A flattering song composed to the Duke.

Unpublished Literary Remains of the Reay Country. 63

Sud, is Ceann-Tsaile nam buadh,
Dh'eireadh tapaidh an guaillibh a cheile
Agus Duirinish ghrinn, 'n aghaidh cunnart
Gu cinnt' cha philleadh tu fhein.

The bard here enumerates the various parishes which would
rise to a man in order to restore to him his rightful territory — if
that were possible ; but soon he sees it a hopeless task, and con-
cludes by a general complaint at the ill-luck which overtook them.

Cha neil iasg air a bhuirn
O'n shalaich iad sugh nam beann
Dhiult an talamh a bharr
Cha neil meas a fas air crann.

Ach bhuineadh dhuinne a bhi stuaim
'S gun bhi furasda air gluasad le stri ;
'Sa bhi toilichte mar a ta
0 nach fhaigh sinn na bha, a chaoidh.

Fhir a rugadh, 's a dh' fhas
Ann machair a chail, 's a ghuail,
Ciamar a dh' fhuilings am brosgul ud da
Ged a reubadh a' bheal gu 'chluais ?

"The reference to kail in the last stanza is the usual taunt with
which the Reay countryman twits his East Coast neighbour.
When the familv seat became vacant at Tongue, the bards found
their chief support and encouragement from the middle-class
gentry of the country, who preserved for a time the ancient
traditions of the clans. They were mostly all connected with the
Reay family, and many of them were highly-educated men.
Major Mackay, or " Fear-Eriboll," took a leading part among them
for genuine hospitality. His fame is still fresh and fragrant,
though three generations have passed away since his day. The
following marbh-rann was supplied to the writer by Miss Find-
later, relict of the Rev. William Findlater, pre-disruption minister
of Durness, who made large collections of Highland songs. The
first six stanzas are lost ; it begins with the seventh —

Rinn do ghliocas bho t-oige

Pailteas storas chuir cruinn ;

Ach nuair chitheadh tu 'in feumnach

Bhitheadh tu endmhor g'a roinn

O'n bha thu comhnuidh ga chaitheadh

Ri daoine, mnathan, is cloinn,'

Cha 'n ionadh Jn cridhe bhi craiteach,

0 rinn am bas da thoirt uainn.

64 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

'Nuair thigeadh am na Fil-Martuinn,

Sa bhiodh sas air gach seors',

?S iad ag ag iunndraimi a' mhaile,

'S gun bhonn ga phaigheadh nam pt>c';

'S ullamh dheauumh tu freagairt,

Air son gach beag agus mor,

S cha bhiodh aon aim an eiginn,

Fhad s' bha fear Eiriboll beo.

Gheibhte ceol agus aighear,

Air feadh do thigh-sa gu leor

Agus tional d'a dh' uaislean,

Nan suidhe suas mu'd bhord,

Be sud a' mhala gun ghruaman,

Air mhead an t-sluaighs bhiodh fa chomh'r,

'S bhiodh gach fear a bha brachdail diu,

Gabhail tlachd ami do ghloir.

'S mor t-iunndrain o 'n dh' fhalbh thu

Air feadh na h-Alba gu leir

'S ni iad t-iomradh an Sasuinri,

'S an rioghachd fharsuing sin f hein ;

Si mo bharail nach faic iad

A chaoidh da leithid air feill,

A rinn an talach so thogail

Da shliochd Raibeart nihic Neill.

Buadhan moltach do dhiadhachd
'S iad a b' fhiach chuir an rann
Cha tuig an t-amadan sian diu
0 'n bha diamhaireachd ami,
Pairt nach faodar a mholadh
Ged tha brollaich nan ceann ;
D 'an cliu bhi pailt ami am briathran
Ach ami an gniomhnan ro ghann.

'S e mo chomhairle an drasda

Do na thamh as do dheigh

lad a shireadh o 'n Ard-Righ

A leithid do ghras' is do cheill ;

'N fheadh s' bhios iad beo air an talamh

Bhiodh sin na bheannachd dhoibh fein

'S nuair a dh' fhalaicheas an uir iad

Mairidh 'n cliu as an deigh.

Unpublished Literary Remains of the Reay Country. 65

'S beag an t-ioghnadh learn truaighe
Thighinn air uaislibh d' a dhuthaich
Mas 'e nach gabh iad dhiot foghluim
Ami a bhi 'g eisdachd d' a chliu ;
Ghabh thu tlachd ann an aoradh
Seinn, is leughadh, is Uirn'
'S cha d' rinn dad do na buadhan-sa
Thu na bu shuairiche 's a' chuirt.

Ni mi 'n t-subseic so fhagail

'S cha 'n ann le ghradh-te na's leor

Cha bu bhreagach a' moladh

Ged a chanainn an cor

Nan deigheadh d' a bhuaclhan gu leir

Chuir an ceill mar bu choir

'S gann gum facadh mi riarnh e

Fear a lionadh d' a chota.

The writer has not been able to discover the name of the author
of the preceding song ; but he was a native of Durness, and
belonged to a family renowned in Rob Bonn's time for their
poetic faculty.

Of more recent songs, perhaps the best known are those of
Morchadh an Taghadair. He composed freely, and so unsparing
was his satire that, as an old woman put it, " Murdoch was as
much feared as the minister." Some time before the Strathnaver
evictions, he rented a farm in Mudale, where he acted as " overs-
man" for the local tacks man — hence the name. The " Taghadair"
selected the cattle for sale each season, and his office was reckoned
a lucrative one. Murdo was, like all poets, rather hot-tempered,
and for some supposed slight, quarrelled with his employer, and
subsequenty emigrated. The following were composed in praise of
her who subsequently became his wife, and who, it seems, had
many suitors : —

Air latha dhomhsa, is mi 'n am aonar
Air an raon, 's mi buain an fheoir ;
Bha mo leannan mu mo choinneamh
'S bha mi togairt dhol 'na coir.

Hugu, ho, mo dhuil gach la
Ri dhol fathast air a toir.

66 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Cha mi oidhche nail do cheilidh ;

Cha labhradh Ceitidh rium d' a deoin ;

Cha robh Domhnuill riura ach gruamach

Ach bha ghruagach mar bu choir.

Hug u, ho, mo dhuil gach latha
Ri dhol fathast air a toir.

Ged tha Domhnuill nis na'm aghaidh
S ged a thaghadh es air tos ;
'Nuair a theid sinn air ar n-aghaidh
Gheibh i 'roghainn aig a stol.

Hugu, ho, mo dhuil, gach la, &c.

Comhairl' bheirinn ort mar nabuidh,
Gabh no fag i reir d'a dheoin,
Ged robh h' athair leat 's a mathair
So mo lamh 's nach faigh thu 'n c6r.

Hugu, ho, mo dhuil gach la, &c.

II.

3S ann chunnaic mise a' mhaighdean,
Air oidhche an tigh Rob Gordon,
Is dh'innsinn a' dealbh dhuit,
Mur gu'n tarraig-te air bord i ;
Bha 'gruaighean mar na caorainn,
Fo 'n aodainn a b' ailte
Is braighead mar an fhaoltinn,
Bu chaomh learn bhi lamh ri.

€ichean corrach baoisgeil,

A rinn mise a thaladh ;

Is mus tig latha cuingis,

Gun cuir mi cainnt an Dan dhuibh.

Bha Uilleam Mac Rob-Taillear,
Ag aireamh dhomh a buadhan,
Mu'n d'rinn e an Dan ud d'i,
Nach b urrainn bard chuir suarach,
No 'n creidinn's an trath sin,
Ach pairt do na chuala mi,
Gu fiachadh mac mo mhathair,
Ri each chuir am buair oirre.

Unpublished Literary Remains of the Reay Country 67

Gach oidhche aims mo leabaidh dhomh,
Gu'm bi an codal gann dhomh,
Breabachadh is teannachadh,
Carachadh, is tionndaidh,
A' sineadh mo lamhan,
Gu mo ghradh tharruing teann rium,
'S mi 'n duil gun robh i t'fhaic' rium,
'S gun agam dhi ach samhla.

D 'ar chaidh i gus an ordugh,
Gu'n chomhlaich mi fein i,
Is thubhairt mi ri Seoras,
Gu 'm bu bhoidheach a' cheile i ;
Ach labhair es mo chomhail,
" 'Nam b'eol dhiutsa a beusan,
Cho maith 's is aithne dhomhs.i,
Gum posadh tu fein i."

Moch-a-thrath Di-Ciadaoin,
Nuair thriall i air falbh uainn,
Lean mi f hein a sios i,
Gu uachdar na Garbh-chreig ;
Chuir an T-seilich eadar-ruinn,
Is ghrioirach sid ar seaiichas,
Is bha mi fhein is Seoras,
Cho bronach, 'nuair dh' f halbh i

Theid mi fhein is Seoras

Di-Domhnaich d'an t-Searmoid,

Is chi sinn an oigh' ud,

Air 'boichead 's air 'dealbha'd,

Is ged a rachadh seorsachadh,

O'n tos gus an earboll,

Cha'n fhaghear anns an fhod' ud,

Cho boidheach ri Barbara.

The following was made on a Christmas-gathering occasion in
the house of one Macdonald. It used to be in great requisition
on festive occasions : —

Oidche Shamhna an tos a gheamhraidh,
'San tigh ud thall bha ceol againn,
Leann math laidir, 'g 61 's ga phaigheadh,
Le Deoch-slainte an Domhnullaich.

68 Gaelic Society of Inverness

Liquor dubailte a bheireadh 'n lus,
As '11 fhear bu mho a dh'oladh dheth,
A dh'fhagadh glagach, fear bhiodh fann,.
Is dh fhagadh gann fear-storasach.

Ach dar a thainig teamhair biadh,
Cha robha sian ann b'fheaird' sinn,
Ach grainn a' sgadain ann an cliabh,
A chaill am briogh mus d'thainig iad.

Fhreagair chailleach is i gu fiata,
Ged tha a bhliadhna so failigeach,
Tha grainn da mhuilt againn air sliabh,
Is bheir mi trian do Mhairi dhuibh.

Ach fhreagair 'n Domhnullach gu coir,
'S ann do mo dheoin a thainig sibh,
Mo ghiullan tapaidh bitheadh 'g 61,
Oir tha gu leor am m' fhardaich-sa.

Ged 'se Mairi gheibh na caoirich
Oir tha gaol a mathair dhi,
Am fear bheir Seonaid dheth an fheill
Cha bhi e 'n eis ma tharas mi.

Sin fhreagair Seonaid 's i gu stuaim
Is i air bruaich a saruichidh
Cha tig Suiridheach d' a ma luaidh
Oir tha fuath mo mhathair dhomh.

Bha mi cho dleasail dhi bho thus
'S a ghiulaineadh mo naduir dhomh
'S bha mi naoi miosachan na broinn
'S na 's mo cha robh aig Mairi ann.

Cha robh suiridheach thainig ann
Nach robh bron na dh 61 iad ann
Nach d' fhuair maighdeannan g' am miann
Ach cailnean crion an Domhnullaich.

It has already been remarked that the bards of the Reay
country disappeared with the sale of the estate, and the conse-
quent disintegration of the Clan. It is to be hoped that the
recent renascence of the Clan Mackay may help to waken the

Unpublished Literary Remains of the Reay Country. 69

Muses in the solitudes of Reay, and this paper cannot close more
suitably than in a, song composed by a Durness man on the
occasion of their autumn visit. It proves that the divine afflatus
still survives in the country of Rob Donn : —

"Soraidh slan do 'n phairtidh eibhinn
Thriall an drast' uainn da Dhun-Edin,
Clan Mhic-Aoidh nam piob 's nam feilibh
Ni iad letibhanta tir nam beann.

Saoil sibh fein nach math na ruintean
Ghluais na Gaidheal ud do'n duthaich so
Sluagh an aite a dheanamh surdail,
Is gabhail curam as a chlann

Cha neil teagamh bho gach sgeal-a

Tha air aithris mu na phairti ih

Nach dean iad feum d 'a dh' iomadh Gaidheal

'N am bhi fagail tir nam beann

Chuala mi iomradh amis a Phaipear
Air duine uasail, oigfhear airidh
Tha air aithris dhaibh mar pharant
So mo lamh gu 'n dean e cliu.

Tha Mac Aoidh a rugadh 'n Roghaird
'Na dhuine uasal, buadhach treubhach
Caraid dileas na fir feumnach,
'S toigh leis foghluim thoirt do'n chlami.

'S beag an curam do gach fleasgach

'N tir nam beann, nan gleann 's nan gaisgeach

Fodh an sgiath, nach faigh iad fasgadh

'N am na h-airc, ma bhios iad stolda.

'S 'n uair a gheibh sin tuillidh fearann
Buala bh6 is cupall ghearran.
Garbh an fheidh, is tarr a bhradain
Bheir sinn barrachd air gach seorsa.

Theid gach Sasunnach chuir dhachaigh
'S thig Mac Aoidh le phiob 's le bhratach
Bheir an duthaich dhuinn o 'n Diuc-Chatach
'S bithidh na fleasgaich air an doigh.

70 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

21st JANUARY, 1890.
EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL DINNER.

This evening the eighteenth annual dinner of the Society was
held in the Station Hotel. Sir Henry C. Macandrew, Chief of
the Society, presided, and was supported by Provost Alex. Ross,
The Mackintosh of Mackintosh, Mr ^Eneas Mackintosh, the
Doune, and Captain Malcolm, Cameron Highlanders. The
croupiers were Rev. Mr Sinton, Dores, and Mr William Gunn,
Castle Street.

After dinner, the Chairman gave the usual loyal toasts, which
were honoured with enthusiasm, and the army, navy, and auxiliary
forces, the latter being coupled with Captain Malcolm, of the 1st
Battalion, and The Mackintosh of Mackintosh, Major in the 2nd
Battalion Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. We know, said
Sir Henry, that although the Highlanders have not been so
intimately associated with the navy in the past, it is to the
Western Highlands the country would have to look for men to
man our ships of war in the event of war breaking out, and we
should feel thankful there are so many stalwart men ready to do
their duty. He was pleased to associate with the toast the name
of Captain Malcolm, who was not only a gallant soldier, but who
was doing important work for the county regiment, by procuring
Gaelic-speaking recruits, by spreading the fame of the army and
its advantages amongst Highlanders. He would, no doubt, be
able to make the Camerons a real Highland regiment, and he
deserved the thanks of the Society for the exertions he was making
in that way. With the reserve forces he was glad to be able to
associate the name of a Highland Chief, ,vho was not only an officer
in the reserve forces, but had served in the regular army, and an
efficient and gallant soldier he was. He thought they were all
pleased and gratified to see The Mackintosh come amongst them
that evening — that they had a name so great in history and High-
land tradition as his was at their table — (applause). It was to be
hoped that The Mackintosh would long be spared to come amongst
them; and he trusted that before long they would see him in
command of the militia battalion of their county — (applause).

Captain Malcolm, who was cordially received, said the regiment
was certainly very much honoured in being connected with the
county of Inverness, and although the county was not very largely

Eighteenth Annual Dinner. 71

populated, they found no difficulty in keeping up the strength of
the regiment within its bounds — (applause). They had a great
many old traditions to • aid them in doing so, and it ought, he
thought, to be their aim to preserve these tiaditions. With the
view of keeping up the historical part as much as possible, he was
going to write a history of the regiment, or rather compile such a
history from other sources for distribution all through the country,
so that people might he induced to take as great an interest as
possible in the Cameron Highlanders — (applause). The response
which the toast had received was only illustrative of the recep-
tions which were accorded representatives of the regiment all
through the county from all conditions of men, and from men of
all ranks and opinions. He had many opportunities of going
about the county, and finding out the feeling which existed
between the people and the Cameron Highlanders, and on all
sides — among proprietors, the ministers of all denominations,
Established, Free, and Catholic — he met with the greatest assist-
ance \ everybody, indeed, being anxious to do their utmost to help
forward the interests of the county regiment. He thought
the regiment had reason to congratulate itself upon being estab-
lished in the Barracks at Inverness, as by having the headquarters
in the county town the officers had opportunities of mixing with
the people of Inverness, learning of the traditions of the regiment,
and making acquaintance with the militia and volunteers. Some
years ago there was a proposal from headquarters to form the
Cameron Highlanders into a third battalion of the Scots Guards,
and on that occasion the county backed them up thoroughly in
resisting the change, as he hoped they always would. At the time
that difficulty was got over he saw a letter from the Adjutant-
General, in which he said that, in spite of that agitation, the pro-
posed change would come to pass sooner or later, so that the people
of the town and county were likely to have another opportunity
of giving the regiment their support. Major Leslie thought their
only hope of avoiding such a proposal would be by their having
two battalions ; but looking to the population of the county, he
thought that was not possible. They must, however, in any case
stick to their one battalion, because that meant that they main-
tained amongst them an old Highland regiment, of which they all
were proud — (applause).

The Mackintosh, in replying for the Reserve Forces, thanked
the Society for electing him Chief two years in succession, and
also Sir Henry Macandrew for kindly taking his place on these
two occasions, when family matters had prevented him from

72 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

discharging the duties of the chair at the annual dinner. Refer-
ring to the Reserve Forces, he said they could not be expected to
take the field, in case of invasion, with success, unless they were
properly armed and equipped in the manner of the regular soldiers,
and that could only be done by the Government voting the neces-
sary money, which they had not hitherto done. The military
instinct was there, and all that was required was proper organisa-
tion, equipment, and money enough to put the auxiliary forces in
the field — (applause).

The Secretary, Mr Duncan Mackintosh, then read the annual
report, which was as follows : —

" In submitting the eighteenth annual report, the Council have
pleasure in stating that the prosperity and usefulness of the Society
continue to increase. The past session was a successful one, and
the ordinary meetings were fairly well attended. It was hoped
that volume 15th of the ' Transactions' would be in the hands of
members by this date, but there has been much time lost in the
correcting of proofs, which had been sent to the writers of the
respective papers, most of whom reside at a considerable distance
from Inverness. The book, however, will be issued in a few weeks,
and, it is believed, will be found equal in value and interest to any
of the previous volumes. A copy of the syllabus for session
1889-90 is in the hands of members present, and it will be observed
that the session promises to be an attractive and useful one.
During the year 35 new members joined the Society, viz., 2 life
members, 2 hon. members, and 31 ordinary members ; and two
volumes were received as donations to the library. The accounts
of the Society for the past year show the following results : —
Total income during year, including .£23 5s 8d carried forward
from previous year, £178 6s 3d ; expenditure, <£148 6s 7d, leaving
a balance at the credit of the Society's account with the Bank of
Scotland, at 31st December last, of £29 19s lid. The large
volumes issued by the Society are a great drain on the revenue,
and the Council wish to urge on all members the necessity of
punctual payment of their subscriptions."

The Chairman, in giving "Success to the Gaelic Society of
Inverness" — (applause) — said this was the third time he had
proposed the toast, and that therefore the company would not
expect many remarks from him upon that occasion. He was glad
to be able to congratulate the Society, now that it was approach-
ing its majority, which it would soon do, upon its continued
prosperity, financially and otherwise — (applause). With regard

Eighteenth Annual Dinner. 73

to the annual volume of transactions, to which the Secretary had
alluded in his report, he thought it was a matter for pride that in
a small place like Inverness they should be able to issue each year
a volume which was of real value and scientific interest —
(applause)— and that they had amongst them men so learned in
all branches of the history of the Gaelic race as to be qualified to
give opinions which were of value in the scientific world—
(applause). From the syllabus which formed part of the pro-
gramme placed on the table, it would be seen that the Society
was directing its efforts to the real purpose for which it was
formed — the elucidation of the language, race, and history of the
Gael. They nsed to believe, in a most unhesitating way, that the
Highland race were of the Ayran-Celtic stock, but heresies had
sprung up on that subject, and he thought there was no place
where the question should be more thoroughly examined than in
the Gaelic .Society of Inverness — (applause). He took leave to say
they had amongst them men who were able to examine into the
subject as thoroughly and effectively and scientifically as were to
be found anywhere. He referred to a paper read before the
Society on Monday evening on the Picts, and said that, while he
would refrain from entering upon controversial subjects, it was
important they should, in such a society, have engrossed upon
their records the opinions of men who were able to give opinions
of a scientific kind, to be sent out to the world, shewing who
Highlanders were, and where they came from — (applause). He
had formed an opinion on that matter himself — he believed it was
an authentic one— and he thought they might rest assured that
the Highland people \vere of true Celtic origin ; certainly they had
a great history to look back upon, and in a society like this they
should have as one of its great objects — and it had, in a fair and
sufficient way, carried that out — the preservation of Highland
traditions and nationality, and of pride in their ancestry, which
was one of the salts of the earth, one of the things which saved
men from sordid acts and motives The chivalry of Highlanders
had made them famous in the world. They were but a small
nation — but a small corner in a nation, he might say — but still,
not only in their own eyes, but in the eyes of the whole world
they occupied a proud position, and they occupied that because,
in critical times, the Highland people had a high ideal — it may
not always have been a right one, but it was higher than anything
selfish — something noble, or which they believed was noble, and
in that way they made themselves illustrious in the world. Sir
Henry concluded by remarking that it was gratifying to find, from

74 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

the statement of Captain Malcolm, that even Land Leaguers were-
not indifferent to the history and glory of their country, as shewn
by their attitude towards recruiting. He asked the company to
drink increased prosperity to the Society — (applause).

Mr James Barron proposed the members of Parliament for the
Highland coucties and burghs, in a happy speech, in which he
made humorous and apt references to remarks made at former
dinners on the same subject. A few years ago Mr Fraser-Mac-
kintosh was referred to as the only Gaelic-speaking representative-
in Parliament, but there were several members now wdth the
Gaelic qualification, and perhaps, as a member of the company
hinted, there would be more in the future — (applause).

Mr Alex. Macbain, M.A., in the absence of Dr F. Maitland Moir,
Aberdeen, who telegraphed that he was laid up with influenza, pro-
posed the toast of <: The language and literature of the Gael."
They were extremely well off, he said, in old Gaelic and old Irish
literature, and he should like to see a society formed, after the
manner of the Spalding Club, for the publication of ancient Gaelic
texts. Professor Mackinnon was showing in the series of articles
he was presently publishing, that there was a vast amount of
mediaeval literature stored up in Edinburgh, and he (Mr Macbain)
was satisfied that those interested in Gaelic subjects had no idea
of the light which could thus be thrown upon the early history of
the race, even in Pictish times— (applause). He associated with
the toast the name of Mr Alexander Mackenzie, of the Scottish
Highlander.

Mr Mackenzie, in the course of his reply, said Mr Macbain had
a scientific knowledge of the literature of the Gael, which he did
not profess to have ; but he did profess to have some knowledge
of the language, and if he could not say much of the Celtic portion,
he was glad to be able to say that a very considerable change had
come over the Highland people, and especially the people of Inver-
ness, in their regard, he might say their affection, for the language
of their race since he came to the town, twenty years ago — (hear,
hear). He proceeded to allude, in illustration of this, to the fact
that then many of the leading people of Inverness were so ashamed
of their native tongue that they would answer a Gaelic salutation
in English. But now the process was reversed, and to be able to
speak Gaelic was actually getting fashionable— (hear, hear, and
laughter). Even the landlords were patronising the Gaelic to an
extent which they had never done before, and particularly The
Mackintosh — whom he was glad to see present — (cheers) — had
such an appreciation of the language that he was informed he kept

Eighteenth Annual Dinner. 75

a Gaelic nurse to teach it to his son and heir — (applause). He did
not mean to talk politics, but he might be allowed to say in passing
that in all his wanderings throughout the Highlands he had never
heard a complaint against The Mackintosh as a proprietor. The
Mackintosh enjoyed the distinction of being the only Chief who,
so far as he knew, had been liberal enough to offer a handsome
sum as a prize for an essay on the social condition of the Highlands
during the present century, and he only hoped that his generosity
would be imitated, so that they might have a really good work on
the most important period of Highland history. He believed that
if his example were followed by other Highland Chiefs in this
respect, and especially in teaching Gaelic to his children, the chiefs
and their people would be more disposed to embrace one another
in future than perhaps they were at present.

Provost Ross proposed Highland Education, making interesting
reference to the Highlands before and after the passing of the
Education Act, and the teaching of Gaelic in schools. He was
much amused the other day to read a Government report written
two hundred years ago on the comparative merits of Gaelic and
English teaching in schools, in which it was recommended that
Highlanders should send all their children above nine years of age
to school in the Lowlands, to be instructed in reading, writing,
and speaking the English language ; and that none of their
children should be served heir to their fathers, or received as a
tenant by the King, who had not received that education. When
the Education Act was passed, eighteen years ago, a great many
croakers had predicted that the better education of the poorer
people would simply lead to discontent, and that with so much
learning there would be no servants ; but he thought it must be
confessed that the state of the country had been greatly improved
by the Act, and that their servants had not got fewer, but better.
One effect of improving the Highlands by book-learning, and the
institution of greater facilities for communication with tho south,
had been the consumption of a great amount of light literature,
and the destruction of that picturesque feature in Highland life
when stories, legends, and traditions were related from memory
round the peat fire ; but perhaps this abandonment of an old
custom would not be permanent, and at anyrate there was ample
compensation in the improved state of things which education had
brought about — (applause).

Mr A. C. Mackenzie, Maryburgh, in reply, sketched in an inter-
esting manner the changes that had taken place in Highland
teaching since the Education Act was passed, and referred to the

76 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

special clauses which had been introduced the better to adapt that
Act to Highland circumstances and necessities. In no part of the
country, he said, was the new Education Act more welcome than
in the Highlands, although they had since found that it had been
obtained perhaps at too great a cost. Irregularity of attendance
was at present the greatest obstacle to successful school work.
Gaelic teaching was now a specific subject, but he was sorry that
it was not more largely taken advantage of in the North High-
lands. He was not surprised at this, however, for until provision
was made for teaching Gaelic in the lower standards, the subject
could not be profitably taught — (hear, hear). Mr Mackenzie
concluded by an allusion to what he considered a grievance, in
respect that the "leaving certificate" was not open to children
trained in a school receiving Government aid, and he expressed the
hope that this anomalous state of matters would soon be remedied.

Mr Allan Macdonald, in giving the Agricultural and Com-
mercial Interests of the Highlands, said they had been passing
through a prolonged and deep agricultural depression, and during
that time their candid friends had told them that they were never
to have better times again, but he was glad to know that such had
not proved to be the case, for matters had improved immensely.
They had better crops, and the prices of stock were much advanced
from what they had been during the past several years. Scotland
must be in a nourishing way financially, for he noticed that no less
a sum than nine million pounds sterling had been invested in
Joint Stock Companies in Scotland during the past ten years, and
in these northern parts they experienced a very fair share of the
wave of depression that had passed over the country — (hear, hear)
• — for they now found many companies springing up in their midst,
which looked like a recurrence of better things. All this went .to
show that the commercial depression which hung over the country
had to a large extent passed away, and he hoped that such a
pleasant state of things would go on increasing — (applause).

The toast was coupled with the names of Mr Wm. Miller,
auctioneer, and Mr J. A. Gossip, both of whom suitably replied.

Mr Colin Chisholm, who was introduced by the Chairman
amid applause, as the "father of the Society," in giving the toast
of " The Non-resident Members," said that these existed in every
corner of the globe, and they were most punctual in discharging
their obligations to the Society. And not only did they do that,
but if they examined the Transactions of the Society they would
find that a large portion of the work there was contributed by non-
resident members, who, as they were a credit to the Society, ought,

Eighteenth Annual Dinner. 77

he considered, to be encouraged. In whatever sphere of life they
were placed, they had proved their interest in the Society efficiently
and well, and he thought they should drink their health with great
heartiness — (cheers).

Mr Alex Mackenzie proposed the health of the Chief of the
Society, and in the course of his remarks referred to Sir Henry's
services to the Society, as well as his good qualities generally as a
public man.

The toast was drunk with Highland honours, and Sir Henry
suitably replied.

Mr D. Fraser of Millburu proposed the health of Mackintosh
of Mackintosh, a sentiment which was also enthusiastically met
with Highland honours.

Mackintosh of Mackintosh referred to the remarks of Mr Mac-
kenzie in connection with the prize which he had offered last year
to the Gaelic Society, and said that he would be very glad this
year to give a similar prize — (applause). He hoped that thereby
a good essay might be secured on a period of Highland history
which was to a large extent a blank. The history of the country
was well known from the Battle of Cullodeii down to the end of
the Napoleonic wars, but very little was known of the changes
which had since taken place ; and for himself he felt great regret,
in going about the country, to find local people unable to tell him
what family lived here and there in various parts where some
prominent Highland family lived in the past. He indicated that
this was the kind of thing he thought was required in such a work
as he desiderated, and concluded by thanking the company for the
manner in which they had responded to the toast of his health.

Mr H. V. Maccallum proposed *' The Croupiers," and in doing
so referred to the prominent part taken by the Rev. Mr Sinton in
connection with the literature of the Highlands, and particularly
complimented him on a series of articles on his own native district
of Baclenoch, which appeared some time ago in the Celtic Magazine.
He coupled the toast with the name of Mr Gunn, who replied.

The other toasts were " The Clergy," proposed by Mr Roderick
Maclean, factor for Ardross, replied to by the Rev. Mr Sinton,
Dores ; " Kindred Societies," proposed by Mr Wm. Gunn, and
responded to by Mr R. Black, C.E., president of the Inverness
Field Club; "The Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council of
Inverness," given by Dr Chapman, coupled with Provost Ross j
and " The Press," submitted by Mr Alex. Macbain, and acknow*
ledged by Mr D. K. Clark.

78 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Pipe-Major Ranald Mackenzie gave selections of pipe music at
intervals in a most efficient manner, and a number of the gentle-
men present agreeably enlivened the proceedings by songs between
the toasts.

The following verses to the Society were composed for the
occasion by Mr Colin Chisholm, Namur Cottage, Inverness : —
Comunn Gailig Inbhirnis,
Comunn na'm fear fialaidh glic,
Tuigse 's uaisle dhaibh mar ghibht,
Gur buan 's gur sona an oighreachd.

Luinneag1 — Mo ruin air a' chomunn so,
Cho somalta 's cho tomadach,
Mo dhurachd do'n chomunn so,
Gun bho gun bholla gann daibh.

Tha gach canain dhaibh cho deis,
Cainnt na h-Eorp' gu leir tha aca,
Sgeul na Feinne 's dan mu seach,
'S geur bheachd air reachd gach righeachd.
Mo ruin, &c.

Le cridhe glan 's le giulan math,
Tha 'n caitheamh-beatha saoibhir,
Reir mo bheachdsa tha iad ceart,
'S nas fhearr na beartas righrean.
Mo ruin, &c.

Seol thar caolas agus cuan,
Fuirich seal 's gach tir air chuairt,
Gus an till thu do 'n taobh tuath,
Cha 'n fhaigh thu sluagh cho caoimhneil.
Mo ruin, <fec.

Falbh bho thuath is siubhail deas,
Gach tir-chein an iar 'san ear,
An cruinne-ce air leud 's air fad,
'S cha 'n fhaic thu 'm feasd an samhladh.
Mo ruin, &c.

Mar creid thu na thuirt mi riut,
Comhairle eile bheir mi dhuit,
Thig a nail, bi trie na'r measg,
7S dearbh dhut fhein mo chainntsa.

Mo ruin, &c.
1 Air by Mr Macpherson of Strathnashie.

Minor Highland Families. 79

22nd JANUARY, 1890.

The meeting this evening was devoted to the nomination of
Office-bearers for the ensuing year.

89th, JANUARY, 1890.

On this date the Office-bearers for next year were duly
elected.

The following gentlemen were elected Members of the Society,
viz. : — Mr Roderick Gooden Chisholm, 33 Tavistock Square,
London, Honorary Member ; Mr William Macintosh, Idvies,
Forfar ; Mr Murdo Mackenzie, Excise officer, Inverness ; Mr Hugh
Thomson, Stockbroker, Inverness ; Mr John L. Robertson,
Inspector of Schools, Inverness ; and Mr William C. Spalding,
Adampore, Tylbet, India, Ordinary Members.

5th FEBRUARY, 1890.

At the meeting this evening Mr J. Macleod, assistant Inspector
of Schools, Inverness, and Mr J. W. J. Burrel, CUchnaharry, were
fleeted ordinary members of the Society. The paper for the
evening was contributed by Mr Charles Fraser-Mackintosh, M.P.,
entitled, " Minor Highland Families — No. 3 ; The Macdonells of
Scotos." Mr Fraser-Mackintosh's paper was as follows : —

MINOR HIGHLAND FAMILIES— No. III.
THE MACDONELLS OF SCOTOS.

Scotos, re-incorporated with the Barony of Knoydart seventy
years since, has long been little more than a name ; yet an old
place and family which twice gave chiefs to Glengarry are worthy
of remembrance in a permanent form. It was an estate of twelve
pennies and one halfpenny value, part of the sixty-penny lands
and Barony of Knoydarb. The particular description ran thus : —
The four penny and the half penny lands of Scotos ; ane penny
land of Torroray ; one penny and one half penny land of Inverie-
beg ; one penny land of Shennachie ; one penny land of Angrugaig
and Teaflich ; two penny and one half penny land of Glendulochan,
comprehending Penvoit, Penvoir, and the one penny land of
Dornach ; half penny land of Torbruiach ; and half penny land of

80 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Corryleatach, all lying in Killichniman of Glenelg. These lands
were held in feu of Glengarry for the sum of ^63 Os 6d, being
apparently the exact one paid by Glengarry for the whole of
Knoydart to the Duke of Argyle, over superior.

The following is a copy of an advertisement drawn up in 1790,
which is not without interest as a description of the estate and its
capacities : —

" In the West Highlands of the County of Inverness, adjoining
to the Coast,

" To lett, for such a number of years as may be agreed on,,
from and after the term of Whitsunday first (1791), either in
whole or in lots,

" All and Whole, the Lands and Estate of Scothouse, which all
connect, and extend fifteen miles in length, and in breadth variable
from four to five miles.

" This property has been occupied as a sheep store farm now
for six years bygone, is known to have produced as good wedders
as any from the Highlands, which is well known in the Glasgow
markets.

"In 1788 upwards of 1000 wedders, not lambed upon the
property, fetched 17s 6d each. The store is not at any time
affected by braxy, trumbling, sturdy, or any other disease of that
kind, and the fox is totally extirpated. There are high mountains
on the property, which are green and procluce natural clover to
the top.

" The Lands will at least graze 6000 sheep, besides the ordi-
nary milk cows to the shepherds and a few for the tacksman.
They lie contiguous to market, being only 20 miles from the
military road leading by Fort- William to Glasgow, and are situated
along the well-known sea-lake, called Loch-nevis, at the south,
which is one of the best anchorage lochs for shipping in Britain ;
abounds with herring and muddfish, and from the frequency of
busses and vessells which frequent that loch and pass the inner
Sound, there is a great demand for cast sheep. The lands lye
within a mile of the other well-known lake called Lochhourn, at
the north, which also abounds with herring and muddfish. There
is upon the property, and will be Lett with the Lands, a substantial
good Mansion House, with office houses and garden."

The mansion-house is described in the year 1800 — "A double
house, thoroughly finished, of two storeys high, with office houses,
and a garden equal for vegetables to any to the north of Edin-
burgh."

Minor Highland Families. 81

There was some fine furniture, old china, &c., remaining in the
house in 1806, years after the property was sold. A galley for
the family use, which made journeys to the West Coast and the
Hebrides, swung at anchor in the bay of Scotos.

The lands I have given are those which were ultimately sold
in 1803, as after-mentioned. But prior to 1745, in the time of
Eneas the 3rd Scotos, which is referred to by Ranald the 5th as
the period of the family's greatest prosperity, Eneas appears to
have had right to Kyles neodentoch (Kyles Knoidearcach ?)
Achachar, Sanderlain, and the two Crowlins.

In 1784, Ranald Macdonell of Scotos writes inviting the wife
of a friend in Inverness, in delicate health, to pay the family a
visit, and says — " There is not a wholesomer part in the High-
lands than this place — the sea close to the door, as also a pretty
little wood, and a cascade near the house, surrounded with oak
trees. So that, if Mrs Gumming is not thoroughly recovered, it
will not be doing her justice should you neglect to send her here ;
and it is but an easy matter by Lochcarron, where I shall meet
and conduct her safe from Mr Jeffrey's. Let not the seeming
trouble of this jaunt, to yourself or anybody else, be an obstacle.
Indeed it is the greatest obligation you will ever have an opportu-
nity of putting upon me, should it contribute to the good woman's
health ; which I am persuaded it must, did she reap no other
benefit than the convenience of the sea bath, which is the best
strengthener of the nerves yet known, and agrees with most
constitutions."

The first Scotos was (1) Donald Macdonell, second son of
Donald Macangus of Glengarry, who died the day the battle of
Inverlochy was fought (in 1645), at the reputed age of 100. I
have seen many of this Donald's signatures, which all run '"Donald
MackAngus," not Macdonald. Donald's eldest son, Alastair Dcarg,
having pre-deceased his father, the succession to Glengarry opened
to his son Eneas, afterwards Lord Macdonell and Aros. Lord
Macdonell dying in 1682 without issue, the succession to Glen-
garry devolved upon his cousin-german Ranald, second of Scotos,
eldest son of Donald the first. At this period Ranald was
advanced in years, having two grown-up sons, Allister Dubh and
Eneas. Allister Dubh possessed Glengarry, and his male descen-
dants, until their extinction in Ib68, were chiefs of Glengarry.

2. Ranald, second of Scotos (and latterly of Glengarry), was
succeeded in Scotos by his second son

3. Eneas, third of Scotos. As I am writing about the Scotos
family, it must be here mentioned that, though now of no con-

6

82 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

sequence as regards the headship, there is a tradition in the
family that Eneas was really the eldest son of Ranald : that Lord
Macdonell on his deathbed sent for Alastair Dubh, and invested
him with the chiet'ship, as the more able man, and the one most
likely to uphold the credit of the Clan, the eldest son Eneas being
content to succeed his father in Scotos merely. Alastair Dubh
certainly was one of the most famous of the race of Glengarry.
In the service of Alexander of Glengarry, in 1758, to his ancestors,
going as far back as Donald Macangus, Alastair Dubh is not
described as eldest son of Ranald. The late Colonel Macdonell of
Glengarry, in the tree drawn up of the family, while giving pro-
minence to the Barisdale, Lochgarry, and other branches, treats
Scotos — his admittedly nearest cadet — very scantily, and in this
he must have had some object. Other observations might be
made ; but, as I have said, the matter has lost any interest it
might at one time have had. Eneas, third of Scotos, seems to
have possessed many lands which did not go to the eldest son's
successors, and it is said he had the whole of Knoydart facing
Loch Nevis, except Inveriemore, which belonged to Barisdale.

Eneas, who is said to have been out in 1689 and 1715 (if not
also in 1745 as a follower), was twice married, but the name of
his second wife I am unacquainted with ; indeed, I only know the
fact from a Sasine in the Pennyland of Sandelain, registered 30th
August, 1753, in favour of Alexander Macdonell, "youngest son
of the second marriage" of the deceased Eneas Macdonell of
Scotos. Eneas had also, besides his eldest son Donald after-
mentioned, at least one daughter named Anne ; a son Allan, of
Ardnaslishnish ; and a son named John, of Crowlin, who was
father of Colonel Jo hn, known as " Spanish John." Allan had a
son, Captain James, a distinguished and loyal officer, who settled
after the American Revolution in Montreal, whose son Angus was
father of the present Mrs Chisholm of Chisholm.

Spanish John, born in 1728, who died at Cornwall, Upper
Canada, in 1820, drew up an account of his stirring early life,
which appeared, with notes, in the " Canadian Magazine," April
and May, 1825, by which it was shown that his father, John
Crowlin, was educated at the Scots College, Rome ; that he him-
self was sent there to be educated as a priest in 1740, when twelve
years of age. He disliked the proposed mode of life, and took to
that of arms. He was in several battles, and was desperately
wounded and left for dead before he attained the age of sixteen.
He had more than once seen King James, and, in his eighteenth
year, was entrusted by Cardinal York with a mission to Scotland

Minor Highland Families. 83

uinl a large smn i'<»r Prince Charles, sailing from Dunkirk the very
day Culloden was fought. How he was robbed of a thousand
pounds by Colin Dearg, uncle to Dundonald, and other two
gentlemen (!) of the name of Mackenzie, all three Jacobite officers ;
his description of the infamous doings of the notorious Allan Mac-
donald of Knock, are graphically given, and the whole paper,
kindly lent me by Mr Macdonell of Morar, is of surpassing interest.

Kneus married Catherine, sixth child of Sir Norman Macleod of
l.emera, she IK-MIL;- at the time widow of Alexander Macleod, 7th
of liaasay, and by her had a son Donald, whom I style 4th of
Scotos, though he predeceased his father. Donald, 4th of Scotos,
married, first, Ellen Meldrum of Meldrum, who left an only
daughter, Margaret, married to Prince Charles' devoted follower,
Alexander Macdonald, younger of Glenalladale. Donald married,
second, Fli/ubeth dimming, by whom he had one son, Ranald,
and a daughter, Florence. Florence emigrated to America, and
married there Ranald Macdonald, of the district of Cornwall, in
the province of Upper Canada. They were both living in 1785,
but died by 1803, leaving two daughters. Donald married as his
third wife Mary Cameron, of the family of (lien-Nevis, and,
according to Mr Mackenzie, in his " History of the Macdonalds,"
had by her a son Archibald, a priest, but as to this I refer later on.

Donald Scotos, known as " Donul nan Gleann," who was un-
fortunately killed at Culloden, by tradition the handsomest of his
race and name, was captain in the Glengarry Regiment. He,
described as " younger " of Scotos, was one of the first to join
Prince Charles, and, had he been head of his family, it is not likely
that the command would have been given to Lochgarry, a younger
branch. Most pleasing accounts of this gallant Highlander are to
be found in the Chevalier Johnstone's memoirs. These memoirs
are admirable, bearing every mark of genuineness. It must be
admitted, however, that he was rather partial ; for those whom he
liked no praise was too great : for those whom he disliked, whether
individuals or localities, no language could be too strong. Speak-
ing of the town of Forfar, for instance, he says : — " There is a
small town named Forfar, most renowned for its Presbyterian
fanaticism, and whose inhabitants have signalized latterly their
holy zeal, by contributing to make Colonel Kerr prisoner. Samuel
(a guide) had forewarned me that it was necessary to pass through
this infernal town, not having any other road which conducted
to Brought)', a village on the border of the first arm of the sea,
or abandoning the great routes to pass it ; so I departed late from
the house of Samuel in order to pass through this execrable town,

84 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

during the time that the unworthy inhabitants were sunk in the
most profound sleep."

And of St Andrews — " At all times the most fanatical town in
Scotland, renowned by the assassination of their Archbishop, the
Cardinal Bethune. Full of a malignant race of Calvinistic
hypocrites, who masked their wickedness under the cloak of
religion ; the greatest cheats and rascals in their intercourse, and
who nevertheless carried their sanctified dissimulation so far as
to lift their bonnet in taking a pinch of snuff to ask God's bless-
ing on it ; who have always the name of God in their mouths, and
the devil in their hearts — a city only worthy of the fate of
Sodom and Gommorhah."

The Chevalier became intimately acquainted with Scotos when
the Highland army came to Inverness in the month of February
1716, and they were afterwards constantly together. At the fatal
battle of Culloden the Chevalier was along with Scotos in the
Prince's left wing, at one time not twenty paces from the enemy.
He narrates — " My friendship for the unfortunate Macdonell of
Scotos, who was killed by my side at the battle of Culloden, had
engaged me to accompany him to the charge with his regiment.
We were on the left of our army, and at the distance of about
twenty paces from the enemy, when the rout commenced to
become general, before even we had made our charge on the left.
Almost at the same instant that I had seen poor Scotos fall (the
most worthy man I had ever known, and with whom I had been
allied in friendship the most pure from the commencement of the
expedition), to the increase of my horror, I beheld the High-
landers around me turning their backs to fly."

Thus ended the career of Donul nan Gleann, one of the most
honourable names in the history of the men of Knoydart. Among
the cherished y ossessions of the representative of Scotos — the pre-
sent Glengarry — is a snuff-box, by tradition, reported' as presented
on the field of battle by Prince Charlie to Donul nan Gleann.
It bears the royal arms, with an inscription rudely traced, but
distinct.

The singular episode in the lives of Donald Scotos and his son
Ranald is thus narrated by the Chevalier : — " On the 19th March
(1746), after that the detachment was commanded by the Duke
of Perth, M. Macdonald of Scothouse came to pass the day with me.
He was a man of about forty years of age, endowed with a fine
figure and a prepossessing address, joined to that of an agreeable
exterior. He had all the qualities of soul which ordinarily
distinguish the honourable and gallant man — brave, polite,.

Minor Highland Families. 85

obliging, of fine spirit and sound judgment. Although I had not
known him but since the commencement of the expedition of the
Prince, T soon came to distinguish his merit and the sweetness of
his society. I formed with him the closest friendship, notwith-
standing the disparity of our ages. He paid back my affection
with all the tenderness of a parent. As he was naturally of a gay
disposition, I psroeived his melancholy on his entering my
dwelling. On asking him the cause, this worthy man looked at
me, his eyes bathed in tears, and said — * Ah, my friend, you do
not know what it is to be a father. I am of this detachment
which must depart this evening to attack Lord Loudoun. You
do not know that a son whom I adore is with him an officer in his
iv.n'imeiit. I believed myself fortunate in obtaining that rank for
this dear boy, not being able to forsee the descent of Charles
Edward into Scotland. Perhaps to-morrow I shall have the grief
to kill my son with my own hand, and that the same ball that 1
shall fire oft' in my defence may occasion from myself a death the
most cruel ! In going with the detachment I may be able to save
his life ; if I do not march, some other may kill him.' The recital
of poor Scothouse rent my heart. I could not refrain from
mingling my tears with his, although I had never seen this young-
man — the subject of the sharp pangs of a tender father. I
retained him the whole day at my house, endeavouring to dissi-
pate his fears as much as I possibly could, and making1 him
promise, on parting, to come straight to my house on leaving the
boat. The next evening I heard a great knock at my door. I ran
thither, and perceived the good father holding a young man by
the hand, of a jolly figure, who cried to me, his eyes sparkling
with joy — ' Behold, my friend, the one who yesterday caused all
my alarms. I have taken him prisoner myself, and when I had
hold of him he embraced me fervently, not regarding the others
who were present.' I then saw him shed tears of joy, very
different to those of the night before. We supped all three
together at my chamber, and I never had my mind more pene-
trated with satisfaction than at this supper, by the mutual scene
of tenderness between the father and son."

I refer to the memoirs for further particulars ; and in illustra-
tion am able to give the son's own account, fifty years after. In
1796 Ranald Macdonell, fifth of Scotos, then an old man, whose
chequered career shall be immediately referred to, sent in an
application for a pension to King George III. The scroll of this
application, tattered, worn, and almost illegible, has, with many
papers connected with the family, been fortunately preserved,

86 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

and in so far as it relates to the '45 runs thus — " That the repre-
senter is one of the immediate cadets of the family of Glengarry,
and at a very early period of his life saw the blessings which all
Your Majesty's subjects acquired by the Revolution, and the
accession of your Majesty's predecessors to the throne of Great
Britain, which induced him, at the breaking out of the Rebellion
of 1745, contrary to the general ideas of that clan at the time, to
join his Majesty's forces as a volunteer in the regiment of High-
landers commanded by Lord Loudoun. The memorialist
was with the regiment in all the service they were engaged
in 1745-6, and in particular he was one of those fifty who
exerted themselves, and made their escape when the regiment
were made prisoners near Dornoch in Sutherland. That the
memorialist served in this small party, then commanded by Captain
Sir Harry Munro, in which Lieutenant, now General, Reid served,
when a French sloop, the 'Hazard,' came to Lord Reay's country
with money and ammunition to supply the Rebel army. Here
she was attacked and taken by the * Sheerness,' when 250 of the
men, among whom were 26 Irish officers, commanded by a Colonel
Brown, having made their escape, they were attacked by the above
50 men, several of them killed, and the remainder all made
prisoners ; and the Rebel army were thus disappointed of about
,£20,000 money, which contributed in no small degree to rain the
cause of the Pretender, and obliged his Rebel army to meet his
Majesty's forces at Culloden, which terminated that rebellion.
That the memorialist and the said party joined the Duke of Cum-
berland at Aberdeen, when the officers and men received the
thanks of His Royal Highness for the essential service they had
performed. That the memorialist remained in the regiment till
the year 1747, and was well known to the officers of the regiment,
none of whom, so far as the memorialist knows, are now living,
except the Duke of Argyle, then Lieut.-Colonel, and General
Reid, then a Lieutenant, who was in the attack on the above 250
men, and whose spirit and good conduct contributed greatly to
the success of the party."

It will be observed that though Ranald Scotos makes no
reference to having been taken prisoner by his father, his state-
ment does not contradict the account by the Chevalier. Nothing
that I have seen in the papers gives any clue, account, or reason
why Ranald, when quite a youth, ran so counter to the family
traditions, and associated himself with the Hanoverian party,
except that prior to the '45 he had been a good deal among the
Macleods, his grandmother's family. He was a strict Catholic,

Minor Highland Families. 87

and, though his two wives were Protestants, his family and all
their descendants have continued in the ancient faith. He also,
when he had occasion to do so, always spoke of the '45 as a
"rebellion," in marked contrast with his neighbours and contem-
poraries, Barisdale, Scammadale, Morar, and others, who cautiously
used the expression of " The troubles of the '45."

Ranald Scotos married, first, a daughter of Glenmoriston's, by
whom he had an only son, Eneas ; he married, second, Annie,
youngest daughter of John Macdonell of Glengarry. In 1747,
Ranald obtained a lieutenant's commission in the service of the
States General, commanded by Lord Drumlanrig, where he re-
mained until the peace and reduction of the regiment, when he
retired on half-pay. Soon after the breaking out of the French
war, in 1757, Ranald was called on by the States General to serve
in the regiment commanded by General Halkett, where he remained
till peace was established. Desiring to enter the British service,
he was allowed to retire by the States General with the rank of
captain, but did not succeed in his object.

In 1778, a proposal was made by the Roman Catholics of
Scotland to raise a regiment without bounty, to be commanded by
Lord Traquair, and on his lordship's application to Scotos for
assistance, the latter offered to raise a hundred men. Traquair's
offer was unhappily declined. Scotos, finding that there were many
Catholics anxious to be enrolled, made a direct application to
Government " to raise a body of 500 Catholic Highlanders, or to
go to America to raise the Catholics there whom he knew to be
attached to the King and Government," a proposal also declined.
Disgusted with these refusals, Scotos gave up for the time his mili-
tary aspirations, and lived at Scotos until 1788 the life of a
country gentleman, diversified by several visits to France, where
two of his sons by his second marriage, Charles and Donald, were
educated in part. In 1718, Mr John Duncan, student of divinity,
is tutor in the Scotos family.

Ranald was of an easy yet honourable disposition that led him
into various obligations, which, with legal mismanagement,
ultimately brought about the loss of the estate. One obligation
in particular, granted with another on behalf of his brother-in-law,
Captain Charles Macdonell of Glengarry, killed at Quebec in 1759,
turned out many years after to be very serious. The papers con-
nected with this matter would indicate that Captain Charles Mac-
donell had no issue. If he had left descendants, the heir male
would now be head of Glengarry.

*& Gaelic Society of Irwentes*.

The rental of Seoton in 1773 wa» onlr 1008 merits Seoto,
equal to £56 **rtm£ made up, with the addition of the com-
pounded val IM* of fintnaat, a* foflcrwm, a or/w bong rained at
50 flMdk% * Aeep 2 flttriu, a ifene of tetter 4 awriu, awi * stow

of cheese 2 merits, viz. : —

244 Merits.

Toiroray .................................... £2 „

Inreriebeg ................................. -

Sbetmaehy ................................. 120

GleDdaloehan .............................. 200 .

200

of Cornrchaireskn aod Gleo-
dulochan... 60

Total 1008

The tenants, apart from numerous cottars, in 1784 were °7 in
number, viz.: —

In Scothouse and Torreray — Evan MacdoneD, James Macdoagall,
Ronald Maolonell, Allan Macdonell, Lachlan Macdonell, Evan
Carmichael, John Macdougall, Alexander Macpherson, Neil Camp-
bell, Christian Geddes, Angns MacdonelL

In Inveriebeg — Mr Alexander Macdonell, priest, John Mac-
donell, Donald Macdonell, John Macdougall, alias Macpherson,
Allan Macdonell, Donald Maclellan.

In Glendulochan and Corrycharreskill — Donald Macdonald,
drover, James Mackay, John Mackay, Angus Campbell, R. Mackay,
Marian MacdonelL

In North Keanlochdulochan — John Macdougall, piper, Dun-
can MacPhee, Betty Kennedy.

In South Keanlochdulochan — John Macdonell and Duncan
Macdonell, with the cottars, forming a population of over 300
•pole.

Whether threatened with removal, or desirous to leave them-
selves, by 1786 almost all left. Charles Macdonell, son of
Scotos, writing from Inverie on 1st April in that year, says : —
" This country is all in a ferment with emigration. Most of the
tenants of this country go to America, so that Glengarry, it is
thought, will soon come to this country. Angus, my brother, is
now away, and Donald is in Sleat vith Mr Martin Macpherson."

Minor Highland Families. 89

r.y 1795 the tenants were reduced to three, and the rent had
risen sis-fold, standing thus : —

John Gillespie £354

Lands of Torreray 30

A Change House 1

£385

Upon the marriage of his eldest son Eneas, in 1788, Ranald
gave over the estate, under burden of an annuity of £150 a year,
of his debts, and moderate provisions to his younger children.
The family affairs had become considerably embarrassed, and
Ranald's annuity not being met, he had in his old age to betake
himself again to a military life.

In the memorial before alluded to in 1796, he states — "That
having had the honour of being, as a brother soldier, well
acquainted with the late Colonel Small, Governor of Guernsey, he,
on account of his services and attachment to your Majesty and
your Predecessors, obtained, on a Representation to Field
Marshall the Duke of York, a Lieutenant's Commission in the
Redment of Fencibles commanded by Colonel Macdonell of Glen-
garry ; but as it is not consistent with his former rank and
services to go upon actual service, it was understood that he was
to remain inactive until he was raised to the rank of Captain,
which would have happened before now if Colonel Small had lived.
That his Royal Highness Field Marshal the Duke of York has
lately made peremptory orders on all the officers in the Regiment to
join, the memorialist has proceeded thus far to state his case to his
Sovereign, and he has only further to mention that his conduct
has lieen as uniform as it has been exemplary and soldier-like in
the 1745. by inculcating principles of loyalty to your Majesty's
person and Government and good older in the corner of the High-
lands of Scotland he resides in. What your memorialist would
now humbly implore of your Majesty is that, on account of his
former services, he would be raised to the rank of a Captain, even
with the Pay of a Subaltern, till a vacancy should happen in the
Regiment, as he always, and still is ready to hazard his life in the
service, or that such other relief be given on account of these
sen-ices as your Majesty, in your great wisdom, shall see proper.''
Scotos obtained his desire, serving in Guernsey, Ireland, and other
places, as I observe in a letter from him dated Gal way, 3rd
November, 1800, he wishes the reply to be addressed to " Captain
Macdonell of Scothouse, Glengarry Regiment, here."

90 Gaelic Society of Inverness

Upon the disbanding of the Regiment, old Scotos was again a
wanderer. The last letter from him I find is dated 1 2th October,
1809, and written from feebleness, to dictation, but he adds in his
own handwriting these pathetic words : — " N.B. — My situation is
such that should there not be a farthing of my annuity due, I
would at present apply to you for ten or twelve pounds. — Glasgow,
Miller Street. I cannot see what I write. God help me."

However imprudent he may have been in becoming involved
for others, he was, quite unnecessarily and improperly, from non-
payment of his annuity regularly, frequently in great straits. The
following is a good specimen of his letters, addressed to the
brother of a priest who had been sometime at Barra : — " I had
accounts lately of honest Captain Archie Sandaig's decease. His
friends, however, have the consolation to know that he departed
this life as he lived — a good Christian. I suppose my son Charles
has left Inverness ; I expect a line from him by the return of
the man who brings this to Fort- William. You would no doubt
hear of your brother's coming this summer to reside on the main-
land. He had too much of the Macdonell pride, or rather scruples,
which you'll call superstition, to yield in what he thought contrary
to his duty, to the King of Barra."

He lingered on, tended by the loving hands of two daughters,
until the month of June, 1811, when, presuming that he would
not have been more than 21 in 1745, his age would be 87. Mrs
Donald M'Eachen, Kinsadel of Morar, who died at a very
advanced age not long since, was in Ranald's employment at the
time of his death. She was full of anecdotes regarding the old
man, describing him as a tall, fine-looking old man, spare, but
strongly built, who attributed the good health he had enjoyed
during his chequered career to his having invariably adhered, as.
his favourite food, to Scotia's staple, porridge and milk.

It is understood in the faaiily that, as stated by Mr Mac-
kenzie, Donald Scotos had by his third wife a son, Archibald. The
papers I have would rather point to Archibald being a son of Mary
Cameron by a second husband named Macdonald ; for in all his
letters, even though addressing a Macdonell, which he does
distinctly, he signs " Macdonald ;" he never refers to Ranald
Scotos as his brother; and Ranald in one letter, in 1784, referring
to a debt due to his stepmother, says it may be pursued for in
" name of her son, Mr Archibald, at Liverpool"- — hardly the way
one would refer to a brother consanguinean. The matter is,,
however, of no moment. I give one of the priest's letters as a
specimen of many others, from Liverpool, all couched in the-

Minor Highland Families. 91

same sensible tone, but entirely destitute of any family pride or
territorial status : —

"Dear Sir, — By a letter lately received from Major Macdonald,
1 understand he has put into your hands <£ 2 3 19s 6d, moneys
advanced to the Adjt. of his regiment. You will please to remit
the same, as soon as convenient, to James Fraser, Esq., Writer to
the Signet, in Edinburgh, where it will be called for. I likewise
advanced, a good while back, two guineas to a Mr Macpherson of
Fasnakyle, and a companion of his, who were returning home, and
in want of money. I desired them to pay the same to you.
Should be glad to know whether they performed their promise ;
suspect they have not, as too many of my countrymen are apt
to forfeit their word on such occasions. Mr Fraser informed me
some time ago that the curators have at length come to a resolu-
tion of selling the Scothouse estate. There never was a more
favourable opportunity, for lands, I am assured, go off remarkably
high at the present moment in these parts. What an. irreparable
loss does the folly of one man bring upon a whole family ! But
so it must be ; for regard should be had to the just claims of the
creditors. — Believe me, Dear Sir, your most obedient humble
servant. (Signed) "ARCHD. M'DONALD.

"Seel Street, 4th of October, 1802."

Ranald Scotos left by his first wife an only son, Eneas, and by
his second wife three sons, Charles, Donald, and John, and eight
daughters, Elizabeth, Helen, Katherine, Flora, Anne, Clementina,
Margaret, and Marjory, but these are not given as their order in
seniority.

The three sons all entered the army between 1786 and 1791.
John died unmarried, and Charles left no male issue. Donald
entered the Indian service, and on his coming home for good a
colonel, married Anne Macdonell of Rhue and Lochshiel. Colonel
Donald Macdonell, on his return from India, where he had
accumulated a fair fortune, was exceedingly kind-hearted, indeed
lavish to his numerous relations and connections. The giving of
a small piece of tobacco used to be considered a great compliment
to a poor person, and Colonel Donald, who always carried a big
spleuchan, never gave a less measure than from his waist to the
ground, which, as he was a tall man, would be the handsome pre-
sent of a full yard of tobacco twist. His big whisky bottle was
well known, and in high popular repute among the people of
Morar, Arisaig, and Knoydart. His adherence in his latter days
to a firm who had befriended him in youth, though warned of his

92 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

danger, proved of serious consequence to his family. Colonel
Donald's eldest son is Mr Eneas Ronald Macdonell of Morar, a
worthy scion of the Scotos and Glengarry families. Mr Macdonell
tells me that his last recollection of old Glengarry, who was killed
in 1828, was his coming to visit his father at Traigh shortly
before. He had a fine deer he had shot, which a lot of his men
bore up to the house. Glengarry, who remained with Colonel and
Mrs Macdonell for several days on this occasion, showed, as after
mentioned, greater consideration to Colonel Donald than to the
head of the family.

One of Ranald's daughters, Katherine, died young. Her father,
speaking of her in 1794, says " Katie's only chance to recover or
live, in the opinion of the physician attending her, is to come to
the Highlands in place of London as I intended. By all accounts
the dear girl is quite exhausted and emaciated, though once
exceedingly handsome." She appears by this letter to have been
engaged to a gentleman in Bordeaux, " a young man of fortune
and great prospects in France and Ireland."

Of the others, all fine-looking women, most lived to a con-
siderable age, and Helen, Clementina, and Marjory were married.
These ladies had much to contend with after their mother's
death in 1793, but were fortunate enough to have many friends,
who estimated them highly. There is one particularly nice letter,
dated London, 22nd October, 1810, from Mrs Irvine, sister of Mr
Gordon of Wardhouse, in reference to the sisters Flora and Anne,
then with her. Marjory, Mrs Galbraith, was the last survivor, and
died in her nephew's house at Traigh at an advanced age.

I now return to Eneas VI. of Scotos, who, though he pre-
deceased his father, was propelled into the succession in 1788, on
his marriage with Anne Fraser of Culbokie (contract dated
Guisachan, llth November, 1788). He was careless and extrava-
gant, but good natured and kind-hearted to a degree, which
increased the family burdens during the short time of his pos-
session, prior to his death on 9th December, 1792.

In a memorial presented in name of his widow and eldest son
in 1796 to the Duke of York, it is stated

" That the memorialists' husband, in the year 1777, obtained
a lieutenant's commission in the 76th Regiment, commanded by
Colonel John Macdonell, and, on their being formed, he was
attached to the Light Company, under the command of Captain
James Fraser, now Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd Battalion of the
Rothesay and Caithness Fencibles ; that the memorialists' husband

Minor Highland Families. 03

and father accompanied the regiment to America, and the Light
Company was there attached to the whole Light Companies of the
Army, under the command of Colonel Abercromby, under whose
command he served during the war. As the memorialists' husband
and father was young and active, so his soldier good conduct soon
became universally admired ; for, independent of the ordinary
service, he, on the occasion of Earl Cornwallis's crossing James's
river, in Virginia, was ordered to the command of a separate
detachment of the Light Infantry left in the rear, to convey them
to the army. This detachment was attacked by a superior force
of the enemy, but the march was so conducted in the face of the
enemy by the memorialists' husband and father for upwards of
twenty miles, that only one man was wounded ; and the result
was that Earl Cornwallis was so satisfied of his good conduct that
he ordered his thanks to be delivered to him ; and the march was
afterwards the subject of public notice in the army.

" That, 011 the enemy having attacked Yorktown, the
memorialists' husband and father was in a very tender state of
health from the fatigues of the campaign, so much so that he was
well entitled to a place of safety ; but, notwithstanding, he con-
tinued at his post with such perseverance and propriety of conduct,
that he was held up by his brother officers as a fit example for
emulation. That at the close of the war, he, in a very tender
state of health, returned to Britain, and he died in December 1792,
as a halj-pay lieutenant — the fatigue which he received in America
having much injured his constitution."

Colonel James Fraser of Culduthel writes to the widow in
terms thus : —

" Madam, — Your late husband, Mr Macdonell of Scotos, served
in my Company (Light Infantry) in the 76th Regiment, the last
four years of the American War, as lieutenant. He on several
occasions distinguished himself as an officer possessed of great
courage and ability. When Lord Cornwallis, with the army under
his command, crossed the James river, in Virginia, Lieutenant
Macdonell (who had been left at New York to bring forward the
convalescents of the Light Infantry), arrived at the place of
debarkation some days after the army had left it ; and, being
ordered to follow, he conducted his detachment through our
enemy's country so ably that, though attacked by a superior force,
he brought them in with only one man wounded, and made
several of the enemy prisoners. He on that occasion had the
satisfaction of Lord Cornwallis's approbation of his conduct.

94 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

During the siege of Yorktown, in Virginia, Lieutenant Macdonell
was in a very poor state of health, but could not be prevailed on
to quit his post, by which his constitution was very much
impaired. Mr Macdonell was on all occasions a good and active
duty officer, and ready to volunteer every service of danger that
offered. — I am, Madam, your most obdt. humble servant,

(Signed) "JAMES FRASER,
" Lieut.-Col. 2nd B. R. and C. F, Regt."

So much for his military services.

He married, as I have stated, in 1788, Anne Fraser of
€ulbokie, and the young people lived very happily, first at Scotos,
and afterwards, on account of his precarious health, at Beauly-
side, now known as Dunballoch, where he died.

In a letter from Scotos House, dated 28th October, 1789, to a
friend at Inverness, Mrs Macdonell, while expressing her happiness
with all her then surroundings, does not forget the country of
" Mac-Huistean,'' adding in a postscript — '• So this is your great
Hunt Week ! 0, for a sight of all your Beaux and Belles, but
believe me, I would not give one look of Knock Airait for it all."

Eneas Scotos nominated in 1790 as guardians to his children,
his wife; his half-brother Charles, described as of the 72nd
Regiment ; Patrick Grant of Glenmoriston ; Captain Allan Grant
of Inverwick ; Captain Alpin Grant, residing at the Citadel,
Inverness : Captain John Grant, yr. of Glenmoriston ; Coll Mac-
donell of Barisdale ; William Fraser of Cuibokie; William Fraser,
his eldest son ; Archibald Fraser, his second son ; James Fraser of
Gortuleg ; and Alexander Macdonell, writer in Inverness, most of
whom acted, but the chief burden fell on the widow and her
brother, Cuibokie the younger.

Debts were constantly pressed for, and legal expenses incurred.
Mrs Macdonell was most anxious to save the property, and on 3rd
March, 1795, she thus writes to old Scotos, her father-in-law, a
letter particularly worthy of remembrance, in face of after events —

" Unless some claims are extinguished, matters cannot hold
another year, and from whom can sacrifices be possibly expected
unless the grandfather and mother step forward ? Let us there-
fore, my dear sir, exert ourselves as far as lies in our power to pre-
vent the sinking of the Scotos family. Let us endeavour to make
our memories valued by our offspring when we are no more, and
to show the world at present that we go to our utmost in order to
support our distressed family. It iy true I am the nearest relative
to the poor orphans, but if there are any remains of them, they

Minor Highland Families. 95

will be named on you, and know of you, when it is hardly known
that there was such as me in the family."

To do old Scotos justice, he was willing to come into any
reasonable arrangement ; but the fates or mismanagement had so
willed that what Mrs Macdonell feared should take place.

Mrs Macdonell removed to Banff, and though in straitened
•circumstances for some time, and having the misfortune of losing
her second son, William, who became an assistant surgeon of the
19th Foot in 1811, she lived long enough to see her only daughter,
Helen ({rant, well married, and her eldest son, Eneas, holding
positions of honour and trust in India.

Eneas Scotos was succeeded by his eldest son, Eneas Ranald
Macdonell, seventh and last laird of Scotos, born at Scotos House
on 19th December, 1789.

In 1794, being then five years of age, he was infeft in the
estate on a precept by Glengarry, with consent of his curators,
dated 9th April of that year.

It is known that boys, indeed children, by influence and
patronage in those days got commissions, and drew pay. When
the Glengarry regiment was embodied in 1791, in which old
Ranald Scotos had a lieutenant's commission, as before mentioned,
young Eneas Ranald, then five years old, got an ensign's com-
mission, and drew pa}'.

In 1796 a peremptory order having been issued that all officers
must join their regiments, Mrs Macdonell and her son presented a
petition to the Commander-iii-Chief, narrating

"In the year 1794 Glengarry received a letter of service to raise
a regiment of fencibles, wherein the memorialist, Ann Macdonell,
her brother, Captain Simon Eraser, and uncle, Captain Archibald
Eraser, obtained Companies, and several of the memorialists' more
distant relations obtained ensigncies and lieutenantcies. That on
this occasion Glengarry, knowing her situation, and her husband's
services, and on account of the many relations she had in the
regiment, gave an ensigncy to her eldest son, Eneas 11. Macdonell,
the other memorialist, a young man at his education, the pay of
which is the only support she and her other children have. He
has since remained in the regiment, none of the subaltern officers
complaining of his absence. Of late he has been required to join,
which his state of health does not at present admit of.

" The memorialists make this humble application to His Royal
Highness, imploring that, on account of their husband and father's
services, and of their own destitute situation, the said Eneas R.

96 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Macdonell will be allowed to remain at his education for a year,,
against which time he will use every exertion to join his regiment."

The boy got some extension, but ultimately joined, as appears
by a letter of his grandfather's in 1800 from Gal way, wherein he
says, " Angus, poor fellow, behaves well," and he continued in the
service until the regiment was disbanded. The first family to
take up Mr Charles Grant in his design on the representation of
the county, at the beginning of the century, was that of Glen-
moriston. Eneas Ronald Scotos was their near relative, and
influence was brought to bear in his favour with success. For
some reason (could it have been because Scotos was a Catholic 1)
Mr Grant did not wish that his intervention should be made public.

Culbokie, writing to a friend from Edinburgh on 17th July,
1807, says — "Angus Scotos is off this day at three o'clock in the
mail coach, for his destination. Mr Charles Grant has behaved
very handsomely, as well with regard to the manner as the fact
of Augus's appointment ; but he insists it shall be secret, so let it
not come from us. I did not allow him to call on the Grants
(James Grant, W.S.), or anyone here, for fear of discovery." He
sailed for India in September, 1807, as appears from a document
signed by him on the 14th of that month at Portsmouth, prior to-
embarkation. Though the debts were pressing, the whole were
not serious, not exceeding £5000, independent of annuities of .£150
to old Scotos and £50 to the young widow. Some of the heritable
creditors, such as Glenalladale and Strathaird, would not have
pushed matters to an extreme had their interests been regularly
paid. It has been noted that the rental had increased six-fold
between 1771 and 1795, and in the proceedings for a judicial sale
in 1802, it was sworn that the rent when again let, might reach
£500, if not £600 a year. There were numerous substantial
friends who might have interfered to save the estate without
running any personal risk, as is clear when it is stated that the
estate actually realised, at a public sale in Edinburgh on 6th July,
1803, over sixteen thousand pounds. The upset price fixed by the
Court was no less than £15,390 5s 7d (and which even at the last
hour should have opened the eyes of the friends of the family),
and after competition, was knocked down for behoof of Grant of
Glemnoriston, who no sooner had it than he became involved in
serious questions of marches with Glengarry, and these ended some
15 years later in the acquisition of the Scotos estate by Glen-
garry. By Whitsunday, 1804, the connection of Eneas Ronald
Macdonell and his family with Scotos ceased, and the lands since
1818 or so have been re-incorporated with Knoydart.

Minor Highland Families. 97

There are several of Eneas Ranald's letters from India, all
showing an affectionate and cheerful nature. He had the desire
and ability to recover the estate at an early period of his career,
and applied to Glengarry, but on the authority of one who was so
informed by Scotos himself, Glengarry never answered his pro-
posal. That Glengarry, who had begun to feel the pinch of
incimibrances, all created by himself, was not unfavourably
disposed to the Scotos family, is shown by the fact that he offered
to deal with Col. Donald, but the latter was too chivalrous, and
would not supersede his nephew.

Eneas Ranald, on his retirement from India, took up his
residence at Cheltenham, and lived just long enough to become
Chief of Glengarry, on the death of Charles Macdonell, last male
descendant of Alastair Dubh, on 28th June, 1868. Eneas Ranald
died 24th October of that year. By his marriage with the
daughter of Archdeacon Wade, he had, with other issue, Eneas
Ranald, born 1847, who predeceased his father, leaving a son
Eneas Ranald, now Chief of Glengarry, whose personal qualifica-
tions in every respect worthily sustain the best traditions of the
race of Mac-Mhic-Alastair.

I use the spelling of "Scotos" as it is commonly done,
although of old it was written " Scothouse." " The race is not
always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong," yet to the heir
or heirs of Mac-Mhic-Alastair the object of winning back not only
Scotos but Glengarry intact. ; the revivication, not only in name
but in reality, of a family renowned in poetry and song, which,
though it committed errors, still was known and respected for
hundreds of years, and which has made its mark in the history of
the Highlands, is worthy, not merely the struggle of one life, but
whatever number of lives may be necessary to ensure ultimate
fulfilment, In this pursuit, let him and them have and hold as
sure an aim as that predecessor of whom it was written —

" 'Nuair a ruigeadh do luaidhe
Cha gluaiseadh iad eang."

12th FEBRUARY, 1S90.

The paper for this evening's meeting Avas by the Rev. John
Macrury, Snizort, entitled — "Old Gaelic Songs with Historical
Notes and Traditions." Mr Macrurv's paper was as follows : —

7

98 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

OLD GAELIC SONGS WITH HISTORICAL NOTES AND
TRADITIONS.

A Luchd-Comuinn mo Ruin, — Tha eagal orm gu bheil cuid
dhibh nach bi ro thoilichte leis na briathran a leughar dhuibh a
nochd. Ach faodaidh sibh mo chreidsinn an uair a their mi gu'n
d' rinn mise mo dhichioll a chum gu'n cuirinn sios mo chuid fhein
de na briathran — 's e sin, gearr-chunntas a thoirt dhuibh mu na
h-orain — cho math, 's cho soilleir 's a b' urrainn domh. Labhraidh
na h-orain air an son fhein. Tha iad mar a fhuair mise iad. Tha
fhios agam gu bheil ceathrannan a dhith gach fir dhiubh ach a'
cheud fhear, " Oran Fir Airidh 'Mhuillinn." Thug mi dhuibh na
blaidhean an dochus gu faod aon de bhuill a' Chomuinn cuid de
na ceathrannan a tha dhith orra fhaotainn uair no uair eiginn.
Nam biodh duine ann a shireadh air an son is e mo bharail gu
faighte iad anns an Eilean Fhada.

Tha ni eile a dhith oirnn nach b' urrainn mise fhaotainn, 's e
sin, ainmean nan daoine a rinn na h-orain. Ach an rud nach gabh
leasachadh feumar cur leis. Faodaidh e bhith gu faighear
fhatha&t a mach co a sgriobh cuid diubh.

ORAN FIR AIRIDH MHUILLINN,

AN UIBHIST A' OHINN A DEAS ;
ATHAIR FIONNAGHAL DHOMNULLAICH A DHJ FHALBH LEIS A' PHRIONNSA.

Slan iomradh do 'n mharcach

A chunnaic mi seachad an de,
Mac ud Aonghais oig bheachdaidh,

Cha b' e 'n t-iomrall learn tachairt riut fhein ;
Fear gun iomlas1 na aigneadh,

Bha gu siobhalta, staideil, an ceill ;
Aig a' mheud 's a tha thlachd ort,

Cha d' fhuaras dhuit masladh no beum.

1 " Fear gun iomlas," duine steidheil nach bi 'g atharrachadh inntinn trie
— "Fear a gheibh sinn far am fag sinne e." Cha chuimhne learn riamh am
facal so a chluinntinn ann an comhradh. Is e theireamaid mu dhuine neo-
steidheil, a bhiodh an diugh a dh' aon bheachcl, 's a maireach de bheachd eile,
gur duine iomlan a bh' ann. Anns a' Bhiobull tha 'm facal iomlan, a'
ciallachadh coimhlionta ; ach, mar a dh'ainmich mi, tha e gus an la 'n diugh
anns an Eilean Fhada, co dhiubh, a' ciallachadh, caocklaideach.

Old Gaelic Songs. 99

Slan o chuimart sud dhasan,

Cha teid duine 'ga aicheadh nach fior,
0 '11 's i 'n fhirinn a b' fhearr leat —

'S i so 'n acuinn a ghnathaich thu riamh ;
Mheud 's a fhuair mi dhe d' choiread,

Ann an comain an eolais nach b' fhiach ;
Ni mi 'n uiread s' ad chomhnadh,

Fhad 's is urrainn do m' chota ga dhiol.

Geibhte sud am beul feasgair,

Ann ad' fhardaich-sa beadradh is muirn,
Buird mhora 'g an leagadh,

Is an uirneis bu deis' as an cionn ;
Bhiodh na deochannan brasa,

Ga'm brosnachadh seachad air thus ;
Anns na cupannan breaca,

'S fir oga 'gaii aiseag gu dluth.

Gheibhte sud ann a d' fhardaich

Ceol fidhl' agus danns 'cur leis,
Taigh nan uinneagau claraidh,

Far am faigheadh na h-anraidhean1 meas ;
Dhomhsa b' fhurasda radha ;

Gu'm b' e sud mo cheol-gaire car greis, •
Cha bhiodh cuideachd mar dhaimh ort,

Bhiodh tu fhein 'na d' cheol-gaire 'na measg.

'S mor do bhiuthas2 aig Gallaibh,

'N nair a bhiodh iad air alliban cian ;
Meud do rahuirn 'na do bhaile,

'S cha bu chuirt leat bhith malairt am bidh ;
'S trie a thug thu uait deannal,

Fhir nach sgrubail a shealladh am prib,3
'S mo do dhuil ann an onair

Na bonn dhe 'bhith 'd sporran 'ga dhiol.

1 " Auraidhean," 's e sin coigrich a thigeadh fliuch, fuar, sgith, acrach, :i
dh' ionnsuidh an taighe.

2 <: Bhiuthas," 's e sin, deagh ainm a chluinnear fada is farsuinn.

:! " Prib," 's e sin, fiachan. Is minic a chuala mi fear ag radh gu robh e
togail " pribidean fhiach."

100 Gaelic Society of Inverness

S iomadh sruthan de 'n fhion-fhuil

A ta ruith ann an sioladh do bhall ;
Sliochd ud Kaoghaill mhoir phriseil,

Nach do dh'fhoghlum bhith miothur DO gann,
Agus deagh Mac Illeathain

\S gun a theaghlach ri fhaigheil an drasd',
Cur le cheil ann an cruadail,

;S trie a bhuinnig iad buaidh anns na blair.

Da chraoibh anns a' gharadh,

Cha '11 ionnan cur fais dhaibh nan dith's,
Craobh a shiolaich 's a dh'fhasas,

Craobh a thuiteas le cramh is le aois ;
'S ionnan sud 's mar a ta sinn,

Ms o 'n phaigh sinn na mail ud cho daor,
Tha ar n-urra cho laidir,

'S gu'n cuir e 'na aite gun chlaoidh.

(J^Ged nach 'eil fhios agam air ainm agus sleinneadh na te a rinn
an t-oran a leanas, tha fhios agam gu'm bu Bhan-Uidhisteach i.
Chuala mi o chionn iomadh bliadhna iomaradh oirre, ach o 'n a
chaidh an t-iomradh so as mo chuimhne ann an tomhas mor, 's
fhearr learn gun diog a radh mu h-eachdraidh aig an am so.

B' ann an. aite eiginn mu Dhunbeagain, 's an Eilean Sgiathan-
ach, a bha i an uair a rinn i e. Cha 'n aithne dhomhsa c'aite am
bheil " airidh 'n aisig," ach 's ann o " airidh 'n aisig," no mar a
chuala mi uair is uair, "rudha 'n aisig," a bhiodh na bataichean
a' seoladh as an Eilean Sgiathanach gu ruige Uidhist mu Thuath.
B'e so " tir a' mhurain."

GRAN LUAIDH.

'S mi m' aonar air airidh 'n aisig,
Snidh' air mo rasgaibh a' dortadh.

H6-rionn, ho-rionn, ho-rionn, ho-rionn,

H6-gaidh, 6, na ho-ro, hii-o.

'S nach fhaic mi bata no currach,
0 thir a' mhurain a' seoladh.
Ho-rionn, etc.

Tighinn o dhuthaich nam fear-fialaidh ;
'S lionar biadhtach1 ann is poitear.

Ho-rionn, etc.
1 " Biadhtach," 's e sin, am fear a bhiodh a' riarachadh an uisge-bheatha.

Old Gaelic Songs. 101

Mo ghaol, mo chomhdhalta priseil,
Fear finealt' a labhradh eolach.
Ho-rionn, etc.

Beul a's cinntich' o'n tig furain,
'S nach tigeadh air iomas1 comhraidh.
Ho-rionn, etc.

An am cruinneachaidh na sgire,
B' ursann dhidein taigh a' mhoid thu.
Ho-rionn, etc.

'N am suidh' aig earradh a' bhuideil,
Cha bu sgrubair 's an taigb-osd' thu.
Ho-rionn, etc.

Bhiodh gach fear a' suidhe laimh ruit ;
'S tusa 'phaigheadh, each a dh' oladh.
Ho-rionn, etc.

'S beag ioghnaidh learn sin a thachairt,
'S nach e 'm breac a bh'air an Ion thu.
Ho-rionn, etc.

Fiuran a uisge na frith' thu,
'S lionar tir am bi do throgmhail.2
Ho-rionn, etc.

H-uile taobh d' an dean thu tionndadh,
Air do dhubladh an Claim Domhnuill.
Ho-rionn, etc.

'S car thu 'Mhac Kaonaill 'ic Ailein
A bha agaiun air a' Mhorthir.
Ho-rionn, etc.

'S car thu 'Mhac Iain 'ic Sheuniais,
Lamh bu treun an deigh na torachd.
Ho-rionn, etc.

'S car thu 'Mhac Iain o'n luraich
Ged a ruisgeadh anns a' choir e.
Ho-rionn, etc.

1 " Iomas," 's e sin, ni mi-iomchuiclh sam bith.

2 " 'S lionar tir am bi do throgmhail," tha so a' ciallachaclh gu robh e air
cheann cogaidh ann an iomadh tir.

102 Gaelic Society of /nuerness.

'S mur a can mi breug, a rithist
'S cairdeach thu 'Thighearna Chnoideart.
Ho-rionn, etc.

Giamanach gunna na sradaig
Bheireadh stad air damh na croice.
Ho-rionn, etc.

'S aotrom a dh'fhalbhas an t-sailetheach1
'S trie a shealg thu i na h-onar.
Ho-rionn, etc.

Cha mhinic a chinnich fiadhach
Le fear gun mhial-chu, gun storas.
Ho-rionn, etc.

Tha e air aithris gur ami mar so a rinneadh an t-oran a leanas :
Bha duine ann aon uair a rinn cionta a bha toillteannach air a'
bhas. An uair a chaidh a dhitheadh thuirteadh ris gu faigheadh
leis a bheatha nan deanadh e oran amis nach biodh aon fhacal
firinn. Cha chuimhne leani a chluinntiiin co mheud ceathramh a
dh'fheumadh a bith anns an oran. Tha fhios agam gur gann a
tha cuimhne agam air an dara leth dheth. Gu mi-fhortanach dha
fhein, chuir an duine bochd aon fhacal firinn anns ann oran, agus
air tailleamh an fhacail so chaill e 'bheatha. Cha'n 'eil air
chuimhne agam de 'n cheathramh anns an robh am facal firinn so
ach an da sreath —

u A' chuthag is gu-gug aice
'S i toirt nan sul a caoraich."

Tha e fior gu'm bi " gu-gug," aig a' chuthaig ged nach 'eil e fior
gu'n toir i na suilean as na caoraich.

AN T-ORAN.

SEISD — Tha cumha 'n deigh do ghaoil orm
Tha mulad mor as d'aonais,
Tha cumha 'n deigh do ghaoil orm.

Fhuair mi nead na liath-chirce,
Air barr na tuinne fiadhaich ;
Bha 'n ron glas a' dol do 'n iarmailt,
Agus cliabh air bac a ghaoirdean.
Tha cumha, etc.

1 " Sailetheach," a hind.

Old Gaelic Songs. 103

Chunnaic mi na sgaireagan
A' sior dheanamh bhuntata dhuiiiu ;
'S dreadhain donn 's da raiuh aige
'Cur bata 'n aghaidh gaoithe.

Tha cumha, etc.

f

Chunnaic mi na cudaigean
A' sniomh air an cuid chuigealan ;
'S a' chorra-ghriobhach 's buideal aice
'Falbh an cuideachd dhaoine.

Tha cumha, etc.

Chunnaic mi iia douiiagau
A' falbh is eallaich chonnaidh orr',
An fhaochag as an tomadaich,
A' falbh is dronnag fhraoich oirr,'
Tha cumha, etc.

Chunnaic mi na h-easgannan
A' danns' air an lar fhasgnaidh
Is a' ghuilbneach agus bat' aice,
'S i 'cur a steach nan caorach.
Tha cumha, etc.

Tha 'n da oran a leanas gle-choltach ri 'cheile ann an aon
scadh ; ach ami an seadh eile that iad gle neo-choltach re 'cheile.

Tha furasda dhuinn a thuigsinn gur e dithis nigheannan oga a
rinii iad. 'Nam barail fhein is cinnteach gu robh iad gle ghlic ;
ach is ioinadh neach a their gu faodadh iad a bhith pailt cho math,
no ni b' fhearr, aig na fir a bha iad a' di-moladh na bhiodh iad aig
an taillear 's aig an t-saighdear. Cha'n e gu bheil mise ag radh
aon fhacal an aghaidh nan taillearan agus nan saighdearan. Is
mi nach 'eil. Cha mhor a b' fhiach mi ann an cuideachd mur b' e
obair an taillcir.

Ach tha aon iii a dh' fhaodas neach sam bith fhoghlum o na
h-orain a rinn nan nigheannan oga so, agus is e sin, cho furasda 's
a tha e coire fhaotainn do 'n mhuimitir de nach 'eil tlachd againn.
Their an dara te gur e 'n taillear a roghainn ; ach cha 'n fhaigh e
ainm a 's fhearr o'n te eile na " isean suarach tailleir."

A CHEUD ORAN.

Cha'n aill learn an gobha
Mu'm bodhair an t-ord mi.
H6-o-hi ubhi ho ho.

104 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Cha'n aill learn am breabadair,
Goididh e moran.

Hao-o hi ubhi ho-i-6.

Cha'n aill learn an tuathanach
Buailidh e dorn orm.

Ho-o-hi ubhi ho-ho.

Cha'n aill learn am fidhlear
Ge finealta mheoirean.

Hao-ho-hi ubhi ho-i-6.

Cha'n aill leam greusaiche,
'S breugach a sheorsa.
H6-o-hi ubhi h6-ho.

Cha'n aill leam an ciobair,
Bidh lith air a mheoirean.
Hao-o-hi ubhi ho-i-6.

Gu'm b' fhearr leam an tailleiar
A chaireadh mo chota.
Hao-o-hi ubhi ho-i-6.

AN DARA ORAK

A dh' fhear air bith cha'n aill leam,
Air bith, air bith cha'n aill leam,
A dh' fhear air bith cha'n aill leam.

Cha'n aill leam gobha dubh a' ghuail,
No isean suarach taillear.

A dh' fhear air bith, etc.

Cha'n aill leam fhein an tuathanach,
Bidh ruaig air son a1 mhail air.
A dh' fhear air bith, etc.

Cha'n aill leam saor nan lochdraichean,
Gur h-aotrom bochd a' cheaird-san.
A dh' fhear air bith, etc.

Cha'n aill leam fhein an greusaiche,
'S na breugan a' co-fhas ris.
A dh' fhear air bith, etc.

Old Gaelic Songs. 105-

Cha'n aill learn fhein am breabadair,
A bhios a' goid an t -snath oirnn.
A dh' fhear air bith. etc.

Cha'n aill learn fhein an seoladair
'Bhios eolach air na sraidean.
A dh' fhear air bith, etc.

Gu'm b' fhearr learn fhein an saighdear
Bhiodh oidhche 's gach aite.
A dh' fhear air bith, etc.

GRAIN NAM MARBH.

A reir mar a chuala mi, rinneadh na h-orain a leanas le
mnathan a dh' fhalbh bhar an t-saoghail so. Faodar air an aobhar
sin, orain nam marbh a radh riutha. Chuala mi a' cheud fhear
dhiubh air da dhoigb, agus chnir mi sios e anns an da dhoigh a
chum 's gii faicte mar a dh' fhaodas an aon oran, no an aon sgeul,
a bhith an caochladh dhoighean air an seinn, no air an aithris.

Tha e air aithris gur ann mar a leanas a rinneadh an t-oran
so : — Bha teaghlach anns a' Ghaidhealtachd anns an robh mac,
agus dithis nigheann. Chaidh am mac a dh' Eirinn. An ceann
nine na dheigh sin dh' eug te de na peathraichean. An uair a dh*
eug am brathair arm. an Eirinn thainig an te a bha marbh de na
peathraichean le naigheachd a bhais a dh' ionnsuidh na te a bha.
be6. So na bheil agamsa air chuimhne de 'n 'n oran.

A' CHEUD DOIGH.

Piuth'rag nam piuth'r, bheil thu d'chadal,

Ill-i-rinn is h6-ro,

Ill-i-rinn is ho-ro,
M' brathair a bha 'n Eirinn againn,

Hi-ibh-6ho-hi,

Na-hi uraibh 6-ro-hi.

'M brathair a bha 'n Eirinn agaiuu,

Ill-i-rinn is ho-ro,

Ill-i-rinn is ho-ro,
Bha e 'n de ac' air na maid can,

Hi-ibh-oho-hi,

Na-hi uraibh 6-ro-hi.

106 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Bha, e 'n de ac' air na maidean,

Ill-i-rinn is ho-ro,

Ill-i-rinn is ho-r6,
Bha mis' ann 's cha robh fios ac' air,

Hi-ibh-6ho-hi,

Na-hi uraibh 6-ro-hi.

Bha mis ann 's cha robh fios ac' air,
Ill-i-rinn is hb-ro,
Ill-i-rinn is ho-ho,

Greis air lar is greis air each dhiom,
Hi-ibh-oho-hi,
Na-hi uraibh 6-ro-hi.

Greis air lar is greis air each dhiom,

Ill-i-rinn is h6-ro,

Ill-i-rinn is ho-ro,
Greis en" amis an t-srol am pasgadh,

Hi-ibh-oho-hi,

Na-hi uraibh 6-ro-hi.

AN DARA DOIGH.

Phiuth'rag nam piuth'r, 'bheil thu d'chadal,
Ho hoirionnan ho ro hi,

Eirich agus breithnich d' aisling,
Hi hoirionnan hao ri-u,
Hi hoirionn o hi ri eileadh,
Thoir sid leat mar chuala tu.

Eirich agus breithnich d' aisling,
Ho hoirionnan ho ro hi,

'M brathair a bha '11 Eirinn againn,
Hi hoirionnan hao ri u,
Hi hoirionn o hi ri eileadh,
Thoir sid leat mar chuala tu.

'M brathair a bha 'n Eirinn againn,
Ho hoirionnan ho ro hi,

Bha e 'n de ac' air na maidean,
Hi hoirionnan hao ri u,
Hi hoirionn o hi ri eileadh,
Thoir sid leat mar chuala tu.

Old Gaelic Songs. 107

Bha e 'n de ac' air na maidean,

Ho hoirionnan ho ro hi,
Bha mis' ami 's cha robh fios ac' air,

Hi hoirionnan hao ri u,

Hi hoirionn o hi ri eileadh,

Thoir sid leat mar chuala tu.

Bha mis' ann 's cha robh fios ac' air,

Ho hoirionnan ho ro hi,
Greis air lar is greis air each dhiom,

Hi hoirionnan hao ri u,

Hi hoirionn o hi ri eileadh,

Thoir sid leat mar chuala tu.

Greis eil' amis an t-srol am pasgadh,
Ho hoirionnan ho ri hi.

Tha e air aithris gur ann mar a leanas a rinneadh an taladh
so. Beagan nine an deigh do leanabh a bhith air a bhreith, dh
fhas a mhathair thin, agus mu'n do dh' eug i thug i sparradh
teann d' a fear e thoirt an aire mhath air an leanabh. Binn an
duine na b' urraiiin da. Fhuair e banaltrum a bha, a reir coltais,
anabarrach freagarrach. Ach ged a bha i 'g radh gu robh bainne-
cioch aice do 'n leanabh cha robh deur aice. Na nithean matha
bu choir dhi a thoirt do 'n leanabh ghabhadh i fheiii iad, agus
bheireadh i am burn fuar do 'n leanabh. Innsidh am beagan
cheathraniian a th' air chuimhne nach robh a' bhanaltrum a'
deanamh a dleasdanais. Bha 'n leanabh a' cnamh Js a' dol as, agus
bha 'bhanaltrum ag radh gur ann mar so a bha. Air oidhche
araidh thainig mathair an leinibh do 'n taigh an deigh dhaibh
gabhail mu thamh, agus sheinn i 'n taladh a leanas. Ghabh athair
an lemibh amhrus nach robh a' bhanaltrum a' deanamh a dleas-
danais, agus chuir e air falbh i. An uair a fhuair an leanabh airc
cheart dh' fhas e gu math : —

AN TALADH.

Togaibh e, togaibh e, togaibh mo leanabh beag,
Togaibh e, togaibh e, togaibh mo leanabh beag,
Togaibh e, togaibh e, togaibh mo leanabh beag.

Banaltrum chiuin,
A thogadh mo leanabh bsag.
Togaibh e, etc.

108 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Deoch 's cha b' e 'm burn,
A thogadh mo leanabh beag.
Togaibh e, ete.

Cioch agus gluin,
A thogadh mo leanabh beag.
Togaibh e, etc,

Fion agus lionn,
A thogadh mo leanabh beag.
Togaibh e. etc.

Laidh' am plaid uir,
A thogadh mo leanabh beag.
Togaibh e, etc.

Bha moran a bharrachd air so anns an taladh, ach cha'n 'eil air
chuimhne agamsa dheth ach so.

ORAN AN TORRAIDH.

0 'n a chuir mi coig no sia de sheami orain sios mar tha,
cuiridh mi nis sios aon oran ur nach deachaidh a chlobhualadh
fhathast. Cha'n fhaigh mi cead innse co a rinn e ; agus mar sin,
bidh e air an aon ruith ris na h- orain eile. Rinneadh e o cheanii
aireamh bliadhnachan do mhuinntir a ghabh an daorach aig
torradh, le neach a bha fo mhor dhragh inntinn air son gu'm biodh
duine sam bith cho beag ciall 's gu suidheadh e sios a dh' ol air
taobh cnuic an deigh dha a cho-chreutair a charadh anns an uaigh.
Tha e na aobhar mulaid gu bheil an cleachdadh truagh, maslach
so air a chumail suas fhathast aim an iomadh aite anns a' Ghaid-
healtachd. Bu choir do gach neach a ghuth a thogail suas na
aghaidh.

Tha mi lan-chinnteach gu saoil gu leor nach urrainn gu bheil
an t-oran fior. Dh' innis urrachan cho cinnteach 's a th'anns an
duthaich dhomh gu bheil a h-uile facal dheth fior gu litireiL

An cuala sibhse mu'n torradh,
Dh' fhaibh Dimairt a Baile-chrochdain ;
Sid na fir a chaidh gu boilich,
'Nuair a the6idh an dram orr'.

Horo gur toigh leinn drama,
Horo gur toigh leinn drama,
Horo gur toigh leinn drama,
'S lionar fear tha 'n geall air.

Old Gaelic Songs. 109

Aig an dorus mu'n do ghluais iad,
Dh' eisd iad urnuigh o mhac Ruairidh,
Bha iad uilc mar dhaoin' uaisle,
Siobhalt', suairc, 's an am ud.
Horo, etc.

Nuair a ghluais iad leis an torradh,
Sid na fir a dh' fhalbh gu stolda,
Cha saoileadh neach a tha beo,
Our seoid a dh' oladh dram iad.
Horo, etc.

'Nuair a rainig iad cladh Ronain,
Sid na fir 'bha deurach, bronach,
A' caoidh na caillich ro choir
Bha dol fo 'n f hod san am ud.
Horo, etc.

'Nuair a thoisich ol an drama
Cha robh guth air caoidh na caillich ;
Dh' fhas iad cho sunndach, 's cho geanail,
'S cho mear, ri luchd bainnse.
Horo, etc.

Bha cuid dhiubh a' gabhail oran •
Bha cuid eile 'g innseadh rolaist' ;
Bha cuid a' maoidheadh nan dorn,
'S bha cuid ag ol gu trang dhiubh.
Horo, etc.

'Sin 'nuair a labhair am bochdan,
" 'Sann againne 'm Baile-chrochdain
Tha na fir is fhearr a dh' olas,
Aig torraidh 's aig bainnsean.
Horo, etc.

" Iain is Uisdean, air do shlainte ;
Oeannaichidh mis uat do mhathair ;
Ni mi torradh dhi 'bhios gabhaidh,
7S bheir mi '11 sath de 'n dram dhaibh."
Horo, etc.

Thuirt fear eile 's e 'na shineadh,
" Cuiribh fios air thoir na piobadh,
'S gu'n dannsamaid uile ruidhle,
<Jed tha spree san am oirnn."
Horo, etc.

110 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

" Ach trocair gu'n d' fhuair a' chailleach,
A chair sinn an diugh fo 'n talamh ;
Dhomhnuill, thoir dhomh mir de 'n aran ;
Fhearaibh, 's math an dram so."
Horo, etc.

Thuirt ogh' Iain oig ann an Dornaig,
" Bhuith, ho-re, b'e so an torradh ;
Dh' fhoghnadh learn gu brath de sholas
A bhith 'g ol an dram so."
Horo, etc.

" Daoine coire, clann Mhic Lachlainn,
Gu ma trie bhios torradh aca ;
0 'n tha storas ac' am pailteas,
Bheir iad sgailc de 'n dram dhuinn.
Horo, etc.

Gur mor am masladh ri 'innseadh
Gu robh cuid diubh marbh nan sineadh,
Air chul nan cnoc Js amis na digean
Mar a mhill an dram iad.
Horo, etc.

Ged a leanainn air an oran,
0 mhoch Diluain gu Didonaich,
Cha 'n aithrisinn trian de 'n bhoilich,
Bheir na seoid san am ud.

Horo gur toigh leinn drama,

Horo gur toigh leinn drama,

Horo gnr toigh leinn drama,

. 'S lionar fear tha 'n geall air.

19th FEBRUARY, 1890.

The paper for this evening was contributed by the Rev. J.
Campbell, Tiree, entitled " Na Amhuisgean — The Dwarfs or
Pigmies." Mr Campbell's paper was as follows : —

The Dwarfs or Pigmies. Ill

THE DWARFS OR PIGMIES ; OR, THE THREE SOLDIERS.

In this tale there is a difference from the ordinary recitations
of the practical story-teller or Syeulaiche. The descriptions so
frequently occurring in the ordinary tales or SyPulachdan of the
sailing of boats, combats, interviews, &c., which help the story-
teller on with his narrative, do not occur in this tale, and the
existence of the pigmies in some unknown region bordering upon,
if not forming part of, the " kingdom of coldness" is of interest as
indicating some of the connection between smallness of person and
cold climate, and so leading to the speculations as to the first
dispersion of the human race and connection of tribes that are
now far removed from each other in appearance, dress, mode of
life, and dialects. Taking but a passing glance at the geography
of the world, or reading books of travel, one cannot but be often
struck by the resemblance of names to Gaelic, not derived from
resemblance of sound to sense, or any such explanation, but from
the same form of word as in Gaelic being used. E.G., in the name
of Kamschatka, in the extreme north, the first part is especially
like Camus, a name so common in the Highlands and in Scotland
at large, denoting an indentation into the land, while the termina-
tion chatka is essentially the same as the termination of the
distinguishing name of Corrie, near Broadford in Skye. What the
meaning of the termination may be is not apparent. The name of
Corrie in Skye is Corrie-Chatachain. The form Kames is well
known. In. books of African travel we are told that bana is the
name the blacks give to a white man ; and ban or white, as applied
to complexion, is universally well known. On looking at the
language of the Esquimaux there can be little doubt that it ought
to be classified as Gaelic or Celtic as much as any of the languages
to which that name is given. It may ultimately prove of unspeak-
able advantage in following out the history of the dispersion of the
human race if the language of people so remote as the Esquimaux
should prove to be Celtic.

The existence of some of the words and names to be found
among the Indians of America also create a suspicion of their
having a streak of Celtic in them. The falls of Niagara seem in
this way to derive their name from gaire, laughter, and its con-
geners, which are the regular words applied to the loud sound of
water. The loud sound of the sea is commonly called f/ctirich nan
tonn, and the Osterling or Eastern sea, when she came to take
away the Cup of Good Fortune from Fionn Mac Cumhail and his

112 Gaelic Society of Inuerness.

men, was said to have loud laughter iii her rough mouth, gaire na
garbh chraos. She is represented in Gaelic Lays as the foster
mother of Manus, the Norse King, and her history is one of the
most entertaining of old lays.

The reason of the soldiers leaving the town or fort in which
they were placed does not appear from the tale ; but it is not
difficult to imagine good reason for their leaving the garrison
town. In any case liberty is too precious to be long neglected,
and the town or city may have been beleaguered, or short of pro-
visions, or disease may have set in. No fault is found in the
story with their leaving, or their doing so ; desertion of the army
in a time of difficulty is not an idea encouraged in the Highlands
by tales, traditions, doctrine, proverbs, or example.

The antiquity and prehistoric origin of the story is to be
inferred particularly from the spell or enchantment under which
the principal soldier was placed by the Druidic pin put by the
Elfin woman at the back of his head, throwing him into a pro-
found sleep, from which he could not be awakened. These magic
wonders were an important element in the Druidism which was
displaced by Christianity, and the ascribing of the action to a
woman may have arisen from the prominence given to witches in
comparatively recent times, though for that matter women have
been liable to have such, and even more marvellous actions
ascribed to them since the days of the Witch of Eiidor.

This tale is from full notes taken of it as told by John Brown.

NA AMHUISGEAN, NO NA TRI SAIGHDEARAN.

Se tri saighdearan bh' aim dh' fhalbh as an arm no dh' fhag
am baile, 's a bha da latha aig coiseachd ; am bsagan bidhe bh'aca'
bha iad gu ruith mach as ; sin shuidh iad latha boidheach ri taobh
ciioic leigeil dhiu an sgios. Cha robh iad fada sin dar chunnaic
iad cu mor ruadh tighinn far an robh iad, 's thuirt iad ri cheile
nach robh tigh fada uapa, 's nach biodh iad gun bhiadh no dion
uine 'sam bi na b' fhaide. Dh' eirich fear dhiu, 's a mach thug
e an deigh a choin. Cha deachaidh e astar sam bith dar chunnaic
e caisteal briagh shios fodha. Ghabh e roirnhe 'ga ionnsuidh 's dar
rainig e cha robh dorus ri fhaicinn air. Bha e dol mun cuairt air
dar a chunnaic e boirionnach dreachmhor aig uinueig. Ghlaodh i
ris dol dh' ionnsuidh dorus cul bh' air a chaisteal. Rinn e sin, 's
chaidh e stigh. Thainig ise na chomhail, dh' fhailtich i e, 's thug
i do sheomar briagh e. Chaidh biadh chur air a bheulthaobh, 's
leth do mhulchag chaise am measg a bhidhe. Bha an ra-dorcha

, 's chaidh solus a lasadh. Dar a shuidh e aig a bhiadh, thog

The Dwarfs or Pigmies. 113

ise leatha an solus 's dh' fhag i 's an dorch' e. Chuimhnich
esan an so air an f headhain a dh' fhag e na dheigh 's chur e 'n leth
mhulchag chaise 's a mhaileid, 's bha e feitheamh ris na thigeadh.
An ceann greis thill ise air a h-ais leis an t-solus, 's thuirt esan
rithe,

" Tha mise air m' fhagail 's an dorcha feitheamh, ris na
dh' fhaodas tighinn, 's ag' eisdeachd ris na chluiimeas mi ; bu
ne6nach a rinn thu an solus thoirt leat."

" Cha mhor nach amaiseadh air a bheul co dhiu 'bhiodh e
dorcha na soilleir," ors' ise ; " ach cha'n fheud a bhi' gu'n d'ith an
coigreach beag a mhulchag mh6r."

Dh' iarr i shios 's shuas i, ach cha d'uair i idir i ; bha mhulchag
'sa mhaileid. 'Nuair fhuair ise mach so dh'iarr i berailt air 'sa
thilgeil comhladh ris na coin mhora. Bha esan a sin spiola' nan
cnamh cheapadh e na measg, 's cha bu luaithe 'bha iad aige na bha
iad uaithe.

An latha 'r na mhaireach chunnaic an dithis eile da chomp-
anaich, 'dh' fhag e na dheigh am fasgadh chnuic, an cii ruadh
a rithist. Mach thug fear dhiu as a dheigh, 's cha robh e fad air
falbh 'nuair chunnaic e caisteal briagh shios fodha, 's thug e aghaidh
air. 'Nuair rainig e cha robh dorus ri fhaicinn air. Bha e dol mu'n
cuairt air gus an robh a cheann gu bhi 's an tuainealaich, 'nuair
chunnaic e boirionnach briagh' aig uinneag. Smeid i air dol a
dh' ionnsuidh dorus cumhanr bha air a chaisteal. Chaidh e stigh.
Dh' fhailtich i e, 's thug i do sheomar farsuinn e. Chaidh biadh
'chur air a bheulthaobh, 's ineasg a bhithe bha ceathramh muilt.
'Nuair shuidh esan a ghabhail a bhithe, thog ise leatha an solus air
a cheart doigh 'rhmeadh air a chompanach. Chuimhnich esan so air
an fhear dh' fhag e na dheigh, 's chur e 'n ceathramh muilt 'sa
mhaileid, 's dh' fhuirich e mar bha e feitheamh 'sa 'g eisdeachd.
An ceann greis thill ise air ais leis an t-solus, 's dh' fharraid esan
de thug dhith leithid sid do chionn a mhothaiche dheanabh 's esan
fhagail 'san dorcha.

"Cha mhor," ors' ise, " nach amaiseadh air a bheul, dorcha na
soilleir, 'gam biodh' e; ach cba'n fheud a bhi' gu'n d'ith an
coigreach beag ceathramh a mhuilt mhoir?"

Dh' iarr ise sin an ceathramh mar rinn i roimhe, ach cha
d'fhuair i thall na bhos e. Bha an ceathramh auns a mhaileid. 'Nuair
dh'aithnich ise so air a cheart doigh, 'sa rinneadh air an fhear
eile, chaidh esan 'thilgeil comhladh ris na coin mh6ra, 's bha e sin le
chompanach, spiola' nan cnamh a cheapadh e na' measg, 's cha robh
aca ach bhi 'gan cluich mar b' fhearr dh' f heudadh iad ; cha robh
bheag na mhor do chuideachadh eile aca.

8

114 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

An ath-latha chunnaic an treasa fear, 's e taobh a chnuic
feitheamh ri' chompanaich a thilleadh, an cu m6r ruadh a tighinn aig
astar, 's dh' aithnich e nach robh tigh fada uaithe. Air siubhal
a ghabh e as a dheigh, 's cha robh e fad 'sara bi' 'g a leantuinii
'nuair a chunnaic e caisteal briagh ann an glaic shios fodha. 'Nuair
rainig e cha robh dorus ri fhaicinn, 's bha e dol timchioll air, 'nuair
chunnaic e, Js an ruith cheudna 'sa rinn a chompanaich, boirionnach
ceutach aig uinneig. Smeid i air dol a dh' ionnsuidh dorus iosal
'bha air a chaisteal. Rinn e so, 's 'nuair chaidh e 'stigh dh'fhailtich
i e, 's thug i do sheomar mor ard e. Chaidh biadh chur air a bheul-
thaobh 's measg a bhithe buillionu cruineachd. '.Nuair shuidh esaii
dh' ionnsuidh bhithe thog ise leatha an solus, ach cha robh duine
aigesan ri chuimhneachadh. 'Nuair thill ise air ais bha h-uile ni
ceart, ;s cha d' rinneadh sion airsan. 'Nuair thainig an oidhche
chaidh e 'laidhe, ach cha d'fhuair e prip chodail. 'S a mhaduinn an
Ik 'r 'n mhaireach thuirt e ri 'sa :

" De na daoine tha sid ri ceol 's ri aighear, nach do leig tamh
no codal dhomh fad na h-oidhche ?"

Thuirt ise ris, " Tha mise mar sin 'o chionn latha 's bliadhna ;
s iad tha ris an obair ud na h-Amhuisgean."

" A bheil thusa so ach latha 's bliadhna T ors' esan.

" Cha 'n 'eil," ors' ise, " 's e nighean do High, ann an Rioghachd
iia Fuarachd tha annam-sa ; 's ghoid na h-Amhuisgean mi 's thug
iad an so mi."

Co dhiu, an 'n ath-oidhche chaidh esan a chodal mar rinn e
roimhe. Thoiseach an ceol 's an lan-aighear, Bha an seomar
laimh ris Ian dhiu-san mar bha e roimhe, 's cha'n fhaigheadh e
lochd chodail. 'Nuair bha e sgith ag eisdeachd riu 'sa theirig
fhoighidinn 's nach b' urrain e fulang na b' fhada, chaidh esan do'n
aite 's an robh iad, a shealltuinn de' bha air an aire, na an robh iad
brath sgur idir do'n aighear. 'Nuair chunnaic iad 's an dorus e, rinn
iad uile gaire na aodann.

" De fath 'ur gaire T ors' esan.

" Tha gur e do cheann fhein 's ball iomanachd dhuinn an nochd
tuille."

Rinn esan gaire nan aodann-sa.

" De fath do ghaire fhein," ors' iadsan.

Thuirt esan, gu'm b'e sin am fear bu mhotha ceann 's a bu
chaola casan acasan a ghabhail dhoibh gus an caitheadh e e gu
ruig na luirgnean. Thoiseach e orra, 's chur e h-uile h-aon riamh
dhiu o thoiseach gu deireadh a mach gus an robh an seomar falamh.
Bha e so leis fhein 's sith 's samhchair aige. An ceann greis
thoisich an upraid cheudna, 's gabh e sios far an robh iad, 's rinn e

The Dwarfs or Pigmies. 115

cheart ruith orra, rug e air an fhear bu motha ceann 's bu chaola
casan, 's ghabh e dhoibh leis gus an do chaith e e thun na'n
luirgnean, 's an do chur c mach iad 's an robh an tigh falamh.
Fhuair nighean an Righ air falbh, ach gheall ise dha tighinn air ais
k> 'h-athair, 's le maighdeamian cohnhideach 'ga iarraidh ri' pliosadh.
Thuirt esan rithe gu'n robh e dol a dh' fhalbh as a sid, ach gum
f uirigheadh e 's an tigh a, b'f haisge do'n chaisteal gus an tilleadh ise
chomhlionadh a geallaidh. Dh' fhalbh ise, 's dh' fhag esan. an
caisteal, 's chaidh e dh' fhuireach do'n tigh a b' faisge dha far an
robh bean-shith. Latha sin bha e 'g ol deoch aig an tobair, chual
€ stairnich tighinn timchioll, ach cha robh e faicinn ni.
Chmmaic a bhean-shith, an Righ, 's a nighean 's na maighdeannan
coimheadach tighinn ann an cuairteag, 's thainig i gun fhios gnn
fhath dha air a chulthaobh 's charaich i prina Druidheachd arm an
cul a chirm. Chadail e sin cho trom 's nach robh air an t-saoghal
ii-i dhuisgadh e gus an d' thoirt am prina Druidheachd a cul a
chirm. 'Nuair thainig an Righ 'ga ionnsuidh fhuair e na throin
shuain e, 's thoisich e air a charachadh 's air a thulganadh, ach
mar bu mho chrathadh an Righ e, 's an bu truime chadaileadh
esan.

"Cha'n eil fhios de an seorsa duine tha sin," ors' an Righ ri
'nighean, "'nuair nach gabh e dusgadh idir." Thainig an Righ tri
uairean san doigh sin 's dh'fhartlich air a dhusgadh. A' sin spiol a'
bhean-shith an prina druidheachd a cul a chinn, 's "riuair dhuisg esan
thill e don chaisteal a rithisd. Shiubhail e sin an caisteal on leth
iochdair gus an leth uachdair. Fhuair e 'chompanaich.

"'Bheil sibh dol a dh'fhalbh comhladh riumsa do Rioghachd na
Fuarachd ?'' thuirt e riu.

" Cha'n 'eil," ors' iadsan," " tha sinn gu math far a bheil sin."

Sheall e so thuige 's uaithe 's chan fhac e ni b' fhearr na thoirt
leis na tri chireau each 's charaich e sud na phoc 's dh' fhalbh
e. So thug e ri siubhal 's ri sior iomachd 's beul-uidhe ri anmoch,
chunnaic e bothan ri taobh an rathaid ann 'san deachaidh e stigh 's
aim 'san robh cnuacaire mor do sheann duine glas na shuidhe air
seana chara cloiche 's e cireadh fheusaig le bad mor do fhraoch.
Thuirt e ris a bhodach,

" Nach garbh a chir th' agad an sin !"

" Cha'n 'eil nas mine agarn," ors' an seann duine.

" Theagamh gu bheil nas fhearr agarn fhein," thuirt esan.

Chirr e so a lamh na phoca 's thug e dha te do na cirean
bh' aige fhein.

'• 'S math," orsa 'seann duine sin, " 's aithne dhomhsa ceann
d' astar 's do shiubhal. Tha iihu dol air toir do leannain nighean

1 16 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Righ ann an Rioghachd na Fuarachd, cuiridh du seachad an oidhche
so comhladh rium fhein 's cha mhiosd do thurus a maireach e."
Rinn e so san la 'r na mhaireach 'nuair bha e air son falbh, thuirt an
seann duine ris. " Tha brathair agamsa 's fhearr a chuireas air do
thurus thu, tha e astar latha 's bliadhna as a so, ach bheir mise
dhuit paidhear bhr6gau 's bheir iad ann thu, ann an aon latha, 'sa
'nuair a ruigeas tu mu thionndas tu an agaidh an rathaid so bidh iad
air ais agamsa roi' dhol fodha na greine."

Dh' fhalbh e 's bha e 'siubhal 's ag imeachd aig Ian astair, san
cromadh an fheasgair, chunnaic e bothan aig taobh an rathaid ann
san robh gnuslirm m6r do sheann duine liath na shuidhe aig an
teine air stoc craobh 's bad m6r giubhais aige 'cireadh fheusaig.
Thionndainn e aghaidh nam br6gan 's thill e dhachaidh iad. Cha bu
luaithe rinn e sin na bha iad as an t-sealladh 's thuirt e ris an
t-sheann duine, "'S garbh a chir th'agad an sin?" "Cha'n eil nas mine
agam," thuirt an seann duine. " Cha chreid mi fhein nach 'eil nas
fhearr na sin agam fhein," ors' esan, 's e 'cur a lainh na phoca 's e
toirt dha te eile do na cirean.

" 'S math 's aithne dhornhsa ceann d' astar 's do shiubhal,"
thuirt am fear so ris, " tha thu falbh 'dh'iarraidh nighean Righ ann
an Rioghachd na Fuarachd ach cuiridh tu seachad an oidhche
nochd comhladh rium fhein 's cha mhiosd' do thuras am maireach
e." An latha 'r 'n mhaireach 'nuair bha e air son falbh thuirt am
bodach ris, " Tha tigh brathair eile agam-sa dh' fheumas tu
ruigheachd, 's tha astar latha 's bliadhna eadar so is tigh mo
bhrathair, 's mar cur am fear sin thar an aiseag thu cha'n eil beo air
thalamh na ni e. Bheir mi dhuit ceirsle shnamh 's bidhidh tu ga
caithe 'romhad 's bheir i far a bheil e thu ann an aon latha. 'Nuair
a ruigeas tu, tilleadh tu h-aghaidh air ais 's bithidh i agam-sa roimh
dhol fodha na greine." Dh'fhalbh e 's bha e 'siubhal aig Ian astair a
caithe' na ceirsle 's ga froiscadh 's ga tachras roimhe, 's aig dol
fodha na greine, sheall e an rat had a thainig e, 's an cor seallaidh
cha d' uair e dhi. Bha bothan beag aig taobh an rathaid 's chaidh
e 'stigh. Bha cruislinn do dhuine mor glas na shineadh air seann
fhurma daraich 'se cireadh 'fheusaig le sguab dhreighionn 's thuirt
e ris, " Nach garbh a chir th'agad an sin."

" Cha'n eil nas mine agam," ors' an duine mor glas.

" Cha chreid mi nach 'eil nis fhearr na sin agam fhein thuirt
esan, 's e sineadh dha na cire bha fos laimh aige.

" 'S math 's aithne dhomh ceann d' astar 's do shiubhal,"
ors am bodach glas ris, " 'tha thu dol do Rioghachd na Fuarachd air
toir nighean Righ, bha thu 'n raoir le' m' bhrathair meadhonach 's
air bho'n raoir le m' sheann bhrathair, 's cuiridh tu seachad an oidhche

The Dwarfs or Pigmies. 117

nochd leumsa 's cha mhiosd do ghnothach a maireach e." An latha
'r 'na mhaireach thuirt an seann duine glas ris. " Tha astar seachd
latha 's seachd bliadhna agad ri dheanamh as a so, ach bheir
mise dhuit lorg 's bheir i thu astar mile aim a mionaid
ach si an iolaire dh' fheumas t-aiseag 's gheibh mise
dhuit i. Rinn e fead 's an tiota bha h-uile eun san ealtainn cruinn
tionichioll air ach an iolaire. Dh'iarr e air a nis' seasamh
air falbh 'sa lamh a chumail ri 'chluais 's greim a dheanamh air a
cheann niu 'n sgainneadh e le cho cruaidh se bhiodh an fhead
dh' fheumadh esan a dheanamh mu 'n d' thigeadh an lolair'. " 'S
gheibh thu biadh bhith's agad air an rathad dhi, mo 'n ith i thu
fhein. 'Nuair ruigeas tu Rioghachd na Fuarachd, tha agaJ ri cur
as do fhamhair mor tha dion iiighean an High, Se an doigh air an
dean thu sin, faobhar fuar a chlaidheamh 'chumail ris an smior-
chailleach aige."

Thainig an Iolaire 's dh' fhalbh iad comhladh 's chur i esan air
tir tioram ann an Rioghachd na Fuarachd. 'Nuair rainig e chual an
Righ an fhuslinn a tighinn mu 'n cuairt a phdais. 'Nuair a
sheall e mach sa chunnaic e co bh'ann, dh' fharraid e stigh e.

" Cha deid mi stigh," ors' esan, "gus am faigh mi Ceile-Comhraig
do'n fhamhair mh6r tha agad 'dion do nighinn." Fhuair e na
dh'iarr e 's mharbh e am fhamhair. Chunnaic a nighean e 's ghlaodh
i ri h-athair,

" 0 Athair sid an saighdear thug mise a measg nan Amhuis-
gean."

Rinneadh so banais mhor aigheareach, ghreadhnach, 'mhair
seachd latha 's seachd bliadhna 's dh'fhuirich esan ann san Riogh-
achd sin gu deireadh a laithean.

THE PIGMIES OR DWARFS ; OR, THE THREE SOLDIERS.

They were three soldiers, that left the army and went away
from town. After they had been walking for two days, the small
quantity of food they had with them began to be well nigh
exhausted. They then sat one fine day, on the side of a knoll, to
relieve their \veariness. They were not long there when they saw
a big red dog coming towards them, and they said to each other
that a house could not be far away, and that they would not be
without food and shelter much longer. One of them rose and
away he wyent after the dug. He did not go any distance when
he saw a fine castle down below him, towards which he went straight
forward, and when he reached there was 110 door to be seen. He
was going round and round it when he observed a beautiful

118 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

woman at a window. She called out to him to go to a back
door that was on the castle. He did so and went in, she came to
meet him, and took him to a fine room. There was food set
before him, and among the food half a cheese. It was now dusk
and a light was lighted. When he sat to his meat she took away
the light. He now thought of those he had left behind, and he
put the half cheese in his knapsack, and he waited for whatever
might happen. In a while she returned with the light, and he
said to her, " I have been left waiting for whatever may happen
and listening to what may be heard ; it was a carious thing of
you to do to take away the light."

" There are few people who could not find their mouth,
whether it be dark or light," said she, " but it cannot be that
the little stranger ate the big cheese." She searched up and
down but could not find it. The cheese was in the knapsack.
When she found this out she called to have him caught and
thrown among the big dogs. He was there picking the bones,
which he might catch among them, and which he no sooner
caught than they were taken from him. Next day his two other
companions whom he had left behind in the shelter of the hillock
saw the red dog again. Away after it one of them went, and he
was not long following it when he saw a fine castle down before
him, and he turned his face towards where it was. When he
reached it there was not a door to be seen, and he was nearly
becoming giddy going round and round it when he observed a
fine looking woman at a window. She made signs to him to go
to a narrow door that was on the castle. He went in, she bade
him welcome and %showed him in to a wide room. Meat was put
before him, and among the meat was placed a quarter of mutton.
When he went to take the food she took with her the light in the
same way as had been done to his companion. He now thought
of the one he had left behind him, and put the quarter of mutton
in his knapsack, and remained where he was, waiting and listening.
After some time had passed she returned with the light, and he
asked why she had dene such a senseless thing as leaving him in
the dark.

"There are few," she said, "who would not find the way to
their mouth, be it dark or light ; but it cannot be that the little
stranger has eaten the big quarter of mutton."

She sought it as she had previously done, but could not find it
here or there. The quarter of mutton was in the knapsack, and,
in the same way as was done to the other, he was thrown among
the big dogs. He was there along with his companion, picking

The Dwarfs or Pigmies. 119

the bones that he might snatch, and they could only acquit them-
selves as best they could, they had neither more nor less of any
other livelihood.

Next day the third one of them, waiting at the side of the
hillock for the return of his comrades, saw the big red dog corning
with speed, and he knew that a house was not far off. He set out
after it, and he was not long following when he saw a fine castle
in a hollow down below. When he reached there was no door to
be seen. He was going round it when he observed, in the same
way as the others had done, a handsome woman at a window.
She beckoned to him to go to a low door that was on the castle.
He did this, and when he went in she made him welcome.
Eatables were set before him, and among them a large loaf of
wheaten bread. When he went to the table she took away the
light, but he had no one to remember, and on her return every-
thing was right and there was nothing done to him. When night
came he laid down, but could not get a wink of sleep. Next
morning he said to her — " What men are those making music and
merriment that did not let me rest or sleep all night ?" She said
to him — " I am in the same way for a year and a day, those who
are at that work are the Awisks (Dwarfs or Pigmies)."

" Are you only here a year and a day V he asked. " I am not
more," she said, " I am the daughter of a king in the kingdom of
coldness. The Awisks stole me away and left me here."

At any rate the next night he tried to sleep as he had previ-
ously done. The music and merriment began. The room next to
him was full of them as it was before, and he could not get a wink
of sleep When he was tired listening to them and his patience
was exhausted, and he could not endure any longer, he went where
they were to see what they were about, or if they meant to stop
their noisy merriment at all. On seeing him in the door they all
laughed in his face. "What are you laughing at?" he said.
"It is that your own head will be a football to us for the rest
of this night." He laughed in their faces. "What are you
laughing at yourself?" they said. He said, that was that he would
take the man of them who had the biggest head and the slenderest
legs and lay about amongst them with it till there was nothing of
it left but the shank. He began on them and he put out every
one that there was from the first to the last, and emptied the
room of them, and he was alone in peace and quietness. In a
while the same noisy work began. He went down where they
were and did as before, he took hold of the one with the biggest
head and slenderest legs and attacked them with him until he

120 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

wore him to the shank, and they were put out and the place was
empty.

The king's daughter got away, but promised him to come
back with her father and her attendant maids to be married to
him. He said to her that he was going away from there, but that
he would wait in the house nearest the castle till she came back
and fulfilled her promise. She went away, and he left the castle
and went to an Elfin woman's house, which proved to be the one
nearest the castle. One day when he was taking a drink at the
well he heard a stirring noise coming about the place, but he \vas
seeing nothing. The Elfin woman saw the king and his daughter
and her attendant maidens coming in an eddy wind, and without
sign or warning she came behind him and put a druidic pin at the
back of his head. He then slept so soundly that all the people in
the world could not rouse him till the druidic pin was withdrawn
from the back of his head. When the king came to him he found
him in a heavy slumber, and he began to shake him and roll him
about, but the more the king shook him the sounder he slept.

" There is no saying what sort of a man that is," the king said
to his daughter, " when he cannot be wakened at all." The kiri^r
came three times in this way and failed to waken him. Then the
Elfin woman plucked the druidic pin from the back of his head,
and when he awoke he returned to the castle again. He then
traversed the castle upwards and downwards ; he found his lost
companions.

" Are you going with me ?" he said to them, " to the Kingdom of
Coldness."

" We are not," they said. " We are well enough where we
are."

He now looked towards him and from him, and saw nothing
more suitable that he could take with him than three curry
combs. He put these in his pocket and went away, then he took
to travelling and ever going on. Towards dusk he saw a bothy at
the roadside, which he went into, and in which he found a big
lump-headed old grey man sitting on a boulder of rock, and comb-
ing his beard with a big bunch of heather. He said to the carle —
"Is that not a rough comb that you have?" "I have not a
smoother," the old man said. "Perhaps," he said, '* I have got a
better one myself." He put his hand into his pocket and gave
the old man one of the combs he had himself. " Well," said the
old man then, " I know the object of your journey and travel. You
are going in search of your sweetheart, the daughter of a king in
the Kingdom of Coldness. You will stay to-night with myself, and

The Dwarfs or Pigmies. 121

your success will be none the less because of it to-morrow." He
did this, and next day when he was ready to go, the old man said
to him — " I have a brother who can better direct you on your
journey, he is a year and a day's journey from this, but I will give
you a pair of shoes that will take you there in one day, and when
you reach, if you turn them in this direction, they will be back here
before sundown."

He went, and wis progressing at full speed, and when the
evening was coming on (lit. bending down), he saw a hut at the
roadside, in which there was a big growling grey man sitting at
the fire on the stump of a tree, with a big bunch of pine wood
combing his beard. The traveller turned the point of the shoes
homewards, and had no sooner done this than they disappeared.
He said to the old man, " That is a coarse comb you have there."
" I have none smoother," the old man replied. " I believe that I
have better than that myself," said he, putting his hand in his
pocket and giving the old man another of the curry combs.
"Well do I know the purpose of your journey and travel," this
one said. " You are going to get the daughter of a king in the
Kingdom of Coldness, but you will pass this night with myself, and
your journey to-morrow will be none the worse of it."

Next day when he was ready to go, the old carle said to him —
" There is a house of another brother of mine that you must reach,
but there is a year and a day's distance between this and my
brother's house, and if he will not ferry you across, there is no one
living on earth who can do it. I will give you a ball of thread, and
you will go on throwing it ahead of you, and it will take you to
where he is in one day. When you reach you will turn it back-
wards, and I will have it before sundown."

He went away, and was going on at full speed, all the time
throwing the ball before him, unwinding and winding it. At sun-
down he looked back the way he came, and he did not see the ball
any more.

There was a little hut at the roadside. He went in and found
a huge recluse of a grey man stretched on an old oaken settle,
combing his beard with a bunch of hawthorn. The wayfarer said
to the old man, " Is not that a rough comb you have there T "I
have none smoother," said the grey recluse to him. " I cannot but
think I have better than that myself," said he, handing him the last
of the combs he had in his hand.

" Well I know the meaning of your journey and travel," said the
grey carle to him. u You are going to the Kingdom of Coldness in
search of a daughter of a king. You were last night with my next

122 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

oldest (middle) brother, and the previous night with my eldest
brother. You will pass this night with me, and your journey to-
morrow will not be the worse of it."

Next day the grey man said to him — "There is a distance of
seven days and seven years from this place, which you have to
traverse, but I will give you a staff which will take you a mile in
a minute, but it is the eagle that must take you over the ferry,
and I will get it for you." He gave -a whistle, and in a moment
every bird in the air was round about him but the eagle. He
now asked his visitor to stand at a distance from him and keep
his hands to his ears, and hold his head in case it should split with
the hardness of the whistle that he would have to give before the
eagle would come. " You will get food for you to give it on the
way so that it may not devour yourself. When you reach the
Kingdom of Coldness you will have to destroy a great giant, who
defends the daughter of the king. The way in which you will do
it is by keeping the cold edge of the sword to his spinal marrow."

The eagle came, and they went away together, and it put him
ashore on dry land in the Kingdom of Coldness. When he reached,
the king heard the fluttering they made round the royal residence,
and looked out. When he saw who it was, he asked him in. "I
will not go in," he said, " till I get a fair combat with the big
giant who guards your daughter." He got what he asked, and he
killed the giant. The daughter saw him, and she called out to
her father — " 0 father, that is the soldier who took me from among
the Awisks."

There was now a great merry joyous marriage feast made that
lasted seven days and seven year^, and the soldier remained in that
Kingdom till the end of his davs.

26th FEBRUARY, 1890.

The paper for this evening was by the Rev. John Sinclair,
Rannoch, entitled, " Some Letters from the pen of Ewen Mac-
lachlan, Old Aberdeen, with Notes." Mr Sinclair's paper was as
follows : —

SOME LETTERS FROM THE PEN OF EWEN MACLACHLAN,
OLD ABERDEEN.

On the 10th day of June, 1888, John Mackenzie, meal dealer,
Beauly, breathed his last at the advanced age of 81 ; and, on the
12th of the same month, a long procession of sorrowing, friends

Letters, Ewen Mac/ach/an. 123

and neighbours carried his body in solemn silence to the old
historic churchyard of Kilchrist, in the parish of Urray, where
they peacefully buried it amid the dust of his forefathers. It was
a proper place for a Mackenzie to be buried in ; for the burning of
Kilchrist Chapel, and the holocaust made of all the worshippers
within, with the sole exception of the officiating parson,1 has ever
since been imprinted on the memory of every true clansman as the
great "Mackenzie Tragedy," and has been celebrated alike in
Piobaireachd 2 and Dirge as an apt foreshadowing of the fire that
shall finally consume all things. There is a tradition in the
family that several of John Mackenzie's forebears lost their lives
in this Kilchrist tragedy ; and, if his body could speak from the
grave, well might it now say in the words of the bard —

" An Cille-chriosd tha rni am shuain,

A feith' fuaim na trombaid mor,

'Nuair gheibh '11 teine an dara buaidh

Thar 'n Eaglais so 's na mairbh tighinn beo."

Which may be translated —

" In Kilchrist I am sleeping sound,
Awaiting the last trumpet dread,
When flames again shall mantle round
This Church with its reviving dead."

In John Mackenzie, death removed from Beauly a standard
inhabitant of the good old stamp. Some years ago, his form was
sure to arrest the attention of any one whose eye was privileged
to scan for a while the people passing along the spacious main

1 There is a tradition that, when the Macdonells came from their hiding-
place in Alttan-nam-breac, bearing each a burden of straw from the stackyard
of Tomich. and so set fire to the doomed chapel, the parson came to the door,
and implored to be let out. He was allowed to escape, but all the rest of the
worshippers were suffocated.

2 " It was a wild and fearful sight, only witnessed by a wild and fearful
race. During the Tragedy the Macdonells listened with delight to the piper
of the hand, who, marching round the burning pile, played, to drown the
screams of the victims, an extempore pibroch, which has ever since been dis-
tinguished as the war tune of Glengarry under the title of ' Cillecriost.' " See
Mackenzie's " Tales and Legends of the Highlands." It is related that the late
Dr Macdonald of Ferintosh, who was a skilful player on the bagpipes, at one
time said he had a good mind to walk round Kilchrist Chapel playing the
appropriate Piobaireachd. When this threat was related to James Mackenzie,
then a young man residing at Lettoch, but whose body was 'ast year buried in
Kilchrist, it at once stirred up the old clan fire within him. " Go and tell Mr
Macdonald from me," said James, " that, if he does that, I will go and prick the
windbag of his pipes for him !"

124 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

street of that busy and interesting monastic village. An old man
of middle size and spare body, with features sharp, regular, and
ascetic, a pair of intelligent and not unkindly eyes looking out
from beneath shaggy eyebrows, his body-clothes plain and quaint,
and his head surmounted by a dingy-brown cloth cap, high and
broad at top, such as his great-grandfather might have worn ; and,
as John walked past, the impression, made by his appearance on
the mind of the spectator, unmistakably was, " There goes an
honest man !" But although honest}' and carefulness and a certain
measure of hardness in striking a bargain were undoubtedly
characteristic of him as a dealer in corn and meal, yet, as a friend
and neighbour, he had a warm and feeling heart ; and his many
little deeds of kindness greatly endeared him to the good people
of Beauly, who are always willing to recognise genuine worth in
whomsoever they may chance to find it. In the bosom of his
family he was an affectionate husband and a tender and dutiful
father, and he invariably followed the good old Scottish custom of
daily worshipping God, morning and evening, at the family altar.
He was a just, and good, and exemplary man, and we humbly hope
his soul is now in heaven. Requiescat in pace !

But what chiefly makes John interesting to us, as a character,
is the circumstance that he was the possessor of cherished memories
and memorials of his childhood, which he would not impart or
speak about to wife, or children, or friends, or neighbours, or indeed
to anybody, but which, we know, he was frequently in the habit of
pondering over in his own mind, and that more especially during
the latter years of his life. Often, when he sauntered down his
favourite walk leading past the picturesque ruins of the old
Priory, and extending either way along the bank of the river, was
he seen to make a sudden stand, and to remain for some time in
that attitude, as if lost in deep meditation. It was then that his
mind would revert to the happy scenes of his early youth in
Culblair and Ardnagrask, and, above all, to the pleasant society of
his uterine brother, William Maclachlan, that amiable young man,
who, during his short life, had been able to exert such a strange
fascination over every one that came within the range of his
influence. John cherished his brother's memory with a devotion
that sprang from genuine affection ; but he wished to confine this
feeling wholly within his own breast, for the reason well known
and appreciated in the north, that poor William was illegitimate,
and so his very existence was regarded as a stigma on the good
name of the family. The memorials he possessed consisted of a
bundle of letters written by William's uncle, Ewen Maclachlan,

Letters, Ewen Maclachlan. 125

the celebrated bard and scholar, as well as accomplished rector of
the Grammar School, Old Aberdeen. These letters, written before
envelopes and postage stamps were invented, are undoubtedly
genuine, and bear marks of having been frequently perused. They
were found after John's death in a secret drawer, and their appear-
ance now throws a curious light on the intercourse between the
Mackenzies of Culblair and the Maclachlan family more than 70
years ago.

The Maclachlan letters were first shown to me in the autumn of
1888, by my friend, Mr Alexander Mackenzie, John's eldest son,
who, for many years back, has been the respected stationmaster at
Grandtully, on the Aberfeldy branch of the Highland Railway.
Mr Mackenzie and I had several long conferences over these letters,
as to whether or not it was desirable that they should be published.
At length a resolution was arrived at to give them to the world,
and that for the four following reasons — (1) because the letters
are now over seventy years old, and all the persons referred to in
them arc dead ; (2) because of the eminence of the chief writer of
them, Ewen Maclachlan, and of the new light they cast on some
parts of his life ; (3) because of their general interest as illustrative
of social life in the Highlands during the first quarter of this
century ; and (4) because John, their late possessor, in the very
act of leaving such letters behind him, evidently appreciated their
great literary value, and recognised the propriety of their being
published some day. Mr Mackenzie deserves the thanks of every
true Highlander for the liberal and unselfish view he has thus
taken of his duty in regard to the letters ; and it is to be hoped
that his example will stimulate others to search their secret
drawers for hidden treasures, and therewith enrich the trans-
actions of our various Gaelic Societies.

In order to make the letters intelligible to the present genera-
tion of readers, it is necessary to give a short preliminary sketch
(1) of Ewen Maclachlan and his family relations ; (2) of the
Robertsons who resided at Ardnagrask ; and (3) of the Mackenzies
who resided at Culblair of Highfield (Ciurnaig).

(1) EWKN MACLACHLAN AND HIS FAMILY RELATIONS. — Ewen
Maclachlan was born at Torrachalltuinn of Coruanan, in Nether
Lochaber, near Fort- William, in the year 1775. His father,
Donald Maclachlan,1 carried on there the business of a country
weaver — a trade which we know was much more necessary and
profitable in those days than it is now. Donald was evidently a

1 Called also in the Lochaber "Domhnull M6r" or "Big Donald," from his
great size.

126 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

man of great natural sagacity, of deep moral and religious con-
victions, and of an unfailing charity — an altogether beautiful and
lovely character, such as won the profound and lasting veneration
of his illustrious son, and is still spoken of with reverence by all
true natives of Lochaber. I well remember when, in the summer
of 1875, I paid a visit to Miss Cameron, Dornie Ferry, an
enthusiastic Lochaber lady, that I had the pleasure of being shown
by her a blanket which, 60 years before, had been woven by Donald,
Ewen Maclachlan's father ; and it seemed to me that this article,
as she put it, "wrought by the worthy father of a worthy son,'J
was more valued by her than anything else she had in her house.
I am sorry to say that I have not hitherto been able to find out
anything regarding the good wife l of Torrachalltuinn ; but wo
may presume, judging from all analogy, that she was the worthy
helpmeet of such a husband. The family, born to them, consisted
of at least three sons and three daughters ; but I have not been
able to ascertain the order of their birth. The sons were Ewen,
Hugh, and one whose name I have not discovered ; and the
daughters were Mary, Anne, and Sarah or Sally (Mor). The
whole family were duly sent to the Parish School of Kilmallie,
where they evidently received an elementary education far above
the average then common, even in Parish Schools, in Scotland.
The girls, who were very clever, received a sound English educa-
tion, and one of them, Anne, having got married to a Macinnes,
became the mother of the late Rev. Mr Macinnes, the learned and
esteemed Free Church minister of Tummel Bridge, in Perthshire.
Hugh and the unnamed son were also well educated, for, when
they grew up to manhood, they proceeded to Jamaica, where in
due time they became not only successful sugar planters, but also
took a respectable position in society as educated and polished
gentlemen. But Ewen2 aspired to a higher education than
Kilmallie School, good as it was, could furnish him with. He

1 Since writing the text, I have got, through my friend Miss Cameron, the
following funny story about " Big Donald" and his wife, which shows that
she was possessed of a keen sense of humour. Donald used to wear one of
those long blue cloaks, at one time so common in the Highlands. One night
his wife pinned her tall white " mutch " to the back of this cloak as it was
hanging to the bedpost. Donald, having risen before daybreak to go from
home, put on his cloak without noticing what was attached. When daylight
c me he wondered why the people were all coming out and looking after him,
and he went on for a cousiderable distance before he discovered the cause of
attraction.

2 Miss Cameron says that E wen's talents were first recognised by the Rev.
Dr Ross, minister of Kilmonivaig, who gave the young student the first start
in his career. It is probable that it was through Dr Ross's recommendation
that Macdonell of Glengarry was led to assist Ewen.

Letters, Ewen Maclachlan. 127

•desired to prepare to enter the University, and his ardent soul for
years hungered and thirsted after the realisation of this, his fondest
dream — that some day he should be privileged to drink at one of
the fountain heads o? learning in his native land, and so qualify
himself for running an honourable and useful career in one of the
learned professions.

There is a tradition that, when Ewen was advanced as fur in
learning as the Kilmallie schoolmaster could carry him on, he had
a great desire to enter the Grammar School of Fort- William ; but.
as his father could not aftord to pay the high fees charged in that
institution, the idea of entering there, as a regular scholar, had for
some time to be abandoned. But " where there is a will there is
always a way.'; Ewen, bent on improving himself, every evening
waylaid the scholars of the Grammar School as they were going
home, got their exercises from them, and regularly wrought them
out against the next day. When this became known to the head-
master, he sent for the eager student, and agreed to admit him
free, on condition that the latter should blow the school horn every
morning and at the close of the play hour, which, in those days,
was the method employed for summoning the boys and girls to
their school work. Ewen was overjoyed ; and not only did he
prove himself to be the most punctual and best horn-blower ever
known in Fort- William, but also in a very short time wrought
himself up to be the dux of the Grammar School. What a noble
example does this poor man's son present to us of overcoming
difficulties in the pursuit of knowledge ! It is of such country-
men, as Ewen Maclachlan, that we ought to be proud.

I now quote the brief, accurate, and admirable sketch of this
distinguished man from the sympathetic and authoritative pen of
Professor Blackie, as exactly suitable for my purpose : — " The
Zealand success,"1 says the Professor, " with which he followed
out classical studies in private, not to mention his poetical and
musical accomplishments, attracted the attention of Macdonell cf
Glengarry, who, with that generosity for which the old Highland
chiefs were notable, furnished the scholar with what little
pecuniary aid he required, in order to pursue his studies at the
University. In the year 1796 he proceeded to King's College,
Old Aberdeen, where young Celts, ambitious of intellectual distinc-
tion, still delight to congregate. Here he forthwith announced
himself as a candidate for one of those bursaries, or scholarships,
which abound in those parts ; and, after the usual trial in Latin
composition, for which the Granite City of the north was always

1 See " Language and Literature of the Scottish Highlands," by Profos? r
Blackie, pp. 261-2-3. Edinburgh : 1876.

128 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

famous, to the great surprise and mortification of the shrewd
young Lowlanders, who had enjoyed far better opportunities of
juvenile indoctrination, the raw Highlander came out first on the
roll of merit. From that moment he was a marked man. After
going through the regular classes, and taking the degree of A.M.,
he entered the Divinity Hall. In the year 1800 he received a
royal bursary, in the gift of the Barons of Exchequer, and was
shortly afterwards appointed to the office of teacher in the
Grammar School of Old Aberdeen, and assistant-librarian to King's
College. In England these would have been offices as lucrative as
they were honourable ; but it has long been an ugly characteristic
of social morality in Scotland, while putting the highest value on
education, to overwork and underpay the educator. Maclachlan,
ike every genuine Scot, was a hard worker. After going through
the tear and wear of his daily routine, he found leisure to carry
on his classical studies to a height not commonly attained in
Scotland. But, though devoted to Greek, as in his view the most
valuable of intellectual acquisitions, he never forgot, as some
people foolishly do, the learning he had brought from the bens
and the glens of his early boyhood. He wedded the study of
Gaelic to that of Greek, by employing himself — like the present
Archbishop of Tuam — in making a poetical Celtic version of the
Iliad, a work held in high estimation by his countrymen, though
only a few selections from it have been published.

" Maclachlan," continues the Professor, " was not only a
scholar but a poet, and, like all true poets, felt the might of the
mother tongue. His proficiency as a Celtic scholar was so great
that he was selected by the Highland Society of Scotland to
superintend the Gaelic-English part of their Scoto-Celtic Dictionary,
published in the year 1828, a circumstance which one can hardly
mention without expressing a very natural wonder, that the Society
which exerted itself so meritoriously in the registration of the
words of the Gaelic language did not follow their noble inspiration
further by the erection of a Celtic chair in one of the Scottish
Universities. Maclachlan was the very man for such a post, and
there can be no doubt that, had the British Government of that
day been as quick-sighted in searching out intellectual excellence
as the Prussian is now, this distinguished poet-scholar would have
been transplanted to the metropolitan seat of learning, there to
found a national school of Celtic philology, which is only now being
dreamt of.1 As it was, Maclachlan died of over-work on the 29th

1 Thanks to Professor Blackie's energy and eloquence, his dream has been
realised. A Celtic Chair has now been in operation for some years back in the
University of Edinburgh, and apparently a brilliant future lies before it.

Letters, Ewen Maclachlan. 129

day of March, 1822, in the forty-ninth year of his age. His
remains were carried to his own Highland home, and interred in
their native soil with all the honours which affection and respect
could gather round a departed magnate. A monument was raised
to him near Fort- William, before which every educated man who
makes the ascent of the chief of Scottish Bens will reverently
take oft his hat."

(2) THE ROBERTSONS WHO RESIDED AT ARDNAGRASK. — John
Robertson, who spent the latter years of his life at Ardnagrask,
was born at Comrie, a township on the north side of the river
Conon, directly opposite the present Scatwell, about the year
1730. The exact spot of his birth lies on the south side of the
Meig where it joins with the Conon. In his boyhood and early
youth, 'John was specially remarkable for his liveliness and agility
in climbing to all sorts of apparently inaccessible places. Like a
squirrel, he could climb up any tree, and, if in a thick wood, go
from tree to tree along the branches ; he could climb up the face
of the steepest precipice, if the rock did not actually beetle over ;
and the highest houses in the country he was able to get to the
top of with the greatest ease. It is related that on one occasion a
sensation was produced in the countryside by the unexampled feat
John performed of climbing up the old tower of Fairburn, and
perching himself on the top of it — an achievement surely as
wonderful as that of the cow that is said to have clambered up the
staircase and given birth to a calf in the uppermost chamber of
that neglected old " keep I"1 This exploit attracted the attention
of an English officer, then a guest in Brahan Castle, who
immediately sent for the youth, and persuaded him to enlist in his
regiment.2 John thereupon proceeded south to England along
with his patron, and having joined his regiment, and been duly
drilled anr3 trained for six or seven months, he was at once dis-
patched across the Atlantic to Canada, where, along with his
companions-in-arms, he had a full share of all the vicissitudes and
perils and glories of the seven years' war with the French,
beginning in 1755, and ending February 10th, 1763.

John took a rather prominent part in the famous attack on
Quebec, at which the regiment he served in happened to be
present. It is well-known that the first operations against that
stronghold were unsuccessful, the city being ably defended by the

1 See " Prophecies of the Brahan Seer," page 50.

2 John had a brother named Alexander, who also served for some time in
the army. He thereafter settled in Ceylon, where he died.

9

130 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Marquis de Montcalm, the governor, and a numerous garrison.
At length the bold project was adopted of scaling the precipitous
cliffs, called " the Heights of Abram," behind the city, where the
enemy were quite off their guard, since they deemed them
inaccessible. When a scaling party was being formed an officer
called out, " Where is the man that climbed Fairburn Tower, and
sat on the top of it T " Here am I," said John Robertson, in
response to his friend, "and ready for action!" John joined the
forlorn party ; and some say he was the sixth, and others that he
was amongst the very first to reach the top of the heights. By
means of ladders drawn up by these bold climbers, the troops
followed in deep silence, and the whole army was enabled to form
in regular order on the plain above. The French General, taken
by surprise, at once said that all was lost unless he could drive
the British from their position, and he accordingly at once
ordered an attack. In the struggle which ensued Montcalm was
mortally wounded, and General Wolfe also fell in the moment of
victory. Quebec surrendered September 18th, 1759.

There can be no doubt, had John Robertson received even a
fair education in his youth, he would have been promoted en this
occasion, at least to the rank of sergeant, for having taken part in
such a daring exploit ; but we suspect his literary education had
been wholly neglected, and so promotion was out of the question.
He had, however, the satisfaction of being a favourite with every
man in his regiment.

After the peace of Fontainebleau, the regiment was recalled
from Canada, and John was permitted to retire to Fort-William,
where he remained for many years, on the recruiting service. It
was here that he got acquainted with Rebecca Macrae, a very young
girl from Kintail, to whom he got married about the year 1770.
Rebecca, after having shared the joys and sorrows of the wedded
state for over thirty years, survived her husband, and lived a
widowed life far on into the present century, dying at Beauly
when considerably over the hundredth year of her age. Four
daughters and one son were born in Fort-William to this worthy
pair, viz., Anne, Kate, Chirsty, Johan, and John. It is with
Anne, the eldest, and John, the youngest of the f amity, that we
have got chiefly to do.

In 1790, Anne Robertson, then a girl of probably not more
than fifteen or sixteen, and said to be very pretty, went out to
service with the Maclachlaus at Torra-challtuinn. Ewen Mac-
lachlan was then fifteen, and, it is more than likely that his
" unnamed" brother was two or three years older. But, at all

Letters, Ewen Maclachlan. 131

events, this \ve do know, that the latter individual made love to
poor Anne, and, by false and insidious promises, won her suscep-
tible and too-confiding heart, with the result that, in 1793, she
was evidently in a condition that she ought not to have been in.
Great was the grief of old Donald on discovering this state of
matters, but he resolved to weigh the painful case in " the
balance of the sanctuary." Having patiently listened to the girl's
simple tale, and also examined his son, he at once saw where the
delinquency lay, and said to Anne — " Poor girl ! whatever may
happen, you may rely on me as your friend, for I will try to get
justice done to you." The noble heart of Ewen was also touched
with infinite compassion at the wrong done by his brother to a
maiden so fair and confiding, and he, too, vowed that he should be
her friend. Much pressure was brought to bear on the delinquent,
from all sides, to marry the girl he had seduced, and so " make
her mi honest woman ;" but, like the "unnamed kinsman" in the
Book of Ruth, he refused to do his duty ; and, in order to get rid
of the whole affair, he went away by the first opportunity to
Jamaica, there to pursue his fortune far away from the scene of
his early transgression.

But, if Anne's condition was the cause of much grief in the
Maclachlan family, it produced even greater sorrow and consterna-
tion at John Robertson's fireside in the Fort. Both he and
Rebecca, having been brought up in the north, looked on illegiti-
macy with great horror, and so regarded their child as in a large
measure ruined by this mishap, and an ugly stain placed on the
whole family. John, who had picked up in his regiment as much
education as enabled him to spell through his Bible, compared
himself on the occasion to Jacob when that Patriarch's daughter
Dinah was defiled by Shechem, the son of Kamor, with this
aggravation in his own case that, whereas Shechem was anxious to
marry Dinah, this Maclachlan rascal ran away and would not
marry his poor defiled daughter Annie ! So great, indeed, was the
effect produced on the brave old soldier's mind by the untoward
incident that he at once applied for his discharge, and having duly
arranged about his pension, he and all his family (including Anne)
bade farewell to Fort- William, and proceeding northwards, they
settled down at Ardnagrask over against the present Muir of Ord
Market Stance, in a small holding which John, through his friends,
had previously secured.

William Maclachlan, the Leanabh yxn iarraid/i,1 was born some

1 The " unprayed-for child."

132 Gaelic Society of Inverness

time in the year 1793. It is uncertain whether this event took
place at Fort-William or after the removal of the family to
Ardnagrask, nor does it matter very much. Poor Anne, it would
seem, took her fallen condition so terribly to heart that her health
gave way, and she had no milk to give the child. A curious
expedient was resorted to. Her mother, Kebecca, had had her
youngest child, John, about six months before this "latest
addition," and she, now seeing the state of matters, at once
weaned her own son, and proceeded to suckle her grandson, who
evidently took very kindly and thankfully to his grandmamma's
breast ! It is astonishing that Coinneach Odhar, the " Brahan
Seer," never laid hold of this prodigy as one of the " signs " to
indicate the other notable things that were to happen in the year
of grace 1793. How appropriate it would have been to say —
" When a grandmother will suckle her own grandson in a little
cottage in Ardnagrask, near the Muir of Ord Market Stance, a
great war shall break out between this country and France, which
will convulse and change all the countries in Europe." It is
probable that Anne Robertson passed through the severe and
trying ordeal of ecclesiastical discipline before the Kirk Session of
the Parish of Urray, and that the minister in due course baptised
her child under the name of William Maclachlan.

William grew up to be a most lively and likeable child. The
old soldier doated on him even more than he did on his own only
son. Rebecca, bound to him by the additional peculiar tie of
breast-relation, regarded him more as her son than as her grand-
son. And John, who was both uncle and foster-brother at the
same time, was perhaps more warmly attached to him than any
of the rest of the family. My able and accurate correspondent,
Mr Maclean, Public School, Muir of Ord, in writing of the
relations subsisting between William Maclachlan and his grand-
father's family, says — " They were all exceedingly fond of him.
He was entirely considered as one of themselves. It is related
that, wThen the tidings of his death were received, John Robertson,
his uncle, who was almost co-equal in age, and on whose milk he
had been nursed, turned quite grey in one night — so great was his
grief. This I have on the authority of a daughter of this same
John Robertson."

In 1803 John Robertson, the old soldier, departed this life in
his 73rd year. He was surrounded by his sorrowing wife and
family ; and his grandson, William Maclachlan, then a boy of 10,
was wholly overpowered with grief at the loss of one who had
proved to him more than a father. It was a solemn and affecting

Letters, Ewen Maclachlan. 133

sight to see the veteran blessing his household, and commending
them, one and all, to God, and singling out his erring child and her
son for a special blessing, and then falling back on his pillow and
gently yielding up his spirit to Him that gave it !

It was remarked by all, that the sorrow and severe discipline
through which Anne Robertson had to pass was in her case a
means of purifying her heart and developing in her nature some
of the finest traits of womanhood. The iron had entered her soul ;
but in her distress she found comfort and new life in Him who had
spoken the gracious words to the woman caught in the very act
of committing a greater transgression — " Neither do I condemn
thee ; go and sin no more." Her constant correspondence with the
Maclachlan family, who regarded her with as much affection as if
she were the widow of the " unnamed" one, also greatly comforted
and strengthened her in her resolutions to lead a good and useful
life. Anne Robertson proved herself to be a model of carefulness
and prudence and charity in her life and conversation, was always
seen to be busy at work, and so much was she beloved and looked
up to in the family that her advice was invariably taken and
followed in every difficult household matter. No doubt there were
neighbours whose tongues wagged as they pointed with scorn to
her illegitimate son ; but the members of her own family had got
over that prejudice in the spirit of Him who forgives sin ; and
they recognised in Anne a golden treasure in the house. But the
time came when her good qualities were seen and appreciated by
at least one admirer among those who were outside the circle of
this worthy family at Ardnagrask.

(3) THE MACKENZIES WHO RESIDED AT CULBLAIR OF HIGHFIELD.
—The site of Culblair lies about two miles from the Muir of Ord
Station, and three from the farm of Tomich. It had a northern
exposure looking towards Ben Wyvis, that picturesque mountain
which so constantly meets the eye of the spectator from every
corner of the Black Isle. There was a plantation of wood
immediately adjoining the holding, which sheltered the dwelling-
house from the fierce and blasting winds of the north and east, and
rendered the situation cosy and comfortable. But the Culblair of
seventy years ago is now only a name ; all the tenantry and
houses in that locality were swept away more than 50 years ago
to make room for the large farm of Dreim, with its modern house
and farm steading and its more highly organised system of labour
and methods of agriculture. Whether the sum total of human
happiness, arid intelligence, and kindliness, and freedom, has been
increased or diminished within the area of the farm of Dreim, since

134 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

the change of system took place in 1832, is a question which well
deserves the serious consideration of the social philosopher.
/ Janet Mackenzie, the goodwife of Culblair, was born about the
year 1735. Hers was a very remarkable career ; for, to use the
quaint words of the local historians, she was " honoured with being
married no fewer than three times, each husband being taken in
succession by the wife into her holding." It would thus seem
that Culblair was then the seat of an order of things avowedly
different from what is now supposed to be the established code as
to which of the sexes is to take the initiative in proposing
marriage. Janet undoubtedly asserted her own right to exercise
this prerogative. Like a Queen Regnant she offered her hand and
heart to the man she liked best ; and when she became a widow,
she had as many suitors pressing round in eagerness to fill the
vacant place, as ever Penelope had during the wanderings of her
husband Ulysses !

' To begin with, Janet Mackenzie was a very fair and comely
woman, and endowed with a large measure of common sense. In
her youth she was called " Seonaid Mhaiseach," or "Fair Janet," a
designation in the Gaelic language highly expressive of feminine
grace and loveliness ; and in later years she was known as " Bean
ch6ir cheanalta na cuil" that is, "the worthy and kind (or
courteous) wife of Culblair," which shows the great estimation in
which she was held by her neighbours. But over and above her
excellent personal qualities, the Sennachies of Urray add, with a
twinkle of the eye, that Janet possessed considerable means of her
own, which, no doubt, made her attractions all the more attractive
in the eyes of those who were looking out for a nice, snug home to
settle in.

The first husband that Janet took " into her holding " was a
man'of the name of Mackay. They had a family, and some of
their descendants are still to be found in the neighbourhood of
Conon Bridge. Mackay died, and his sorrowing relict, having
assumed and for some time worn the sombre garb of widowhood,
which, they say, set her off to very great advantage, at length
took unto herself a second husband of the name of Henderson.
By this marriage there was a son named William, one of whose
daughters, a bedridden old woman of 87, I am glad to say, is still
in life, and has supplied my correspondent with a good deal of
information in connection with the subjects of these letters, Alas!
Henderson died too, and poor Janet had to resume a second time
the woeful weeds of widowhood. But even then her attractions
did not fail to draw, for we learn that she took unto herself as her

Letters, Ewen Maclachtan. 135

third husband, James Mackenzie, a clansman of her own — a worthy
and hardworking man who, it is said, conferred the " crowning
honour " on the thrice honoured curriculum of her matrimonial
life. l>y .l;u IK'S Mackenzie, Janet had two sons, John and Donald,
and as we know that the former was born in the year 1772, this
datr will help us approximately to fix in our minds the relative
chronology of the whole series of births that took place in Culblair
during the successive periods of the three husbands.

Let us accord high honour to Seonaid Mhaiseach, the grand
old lady of Culblair, who, in her day and generation, so nobly
vindicated the rights of womanhood. On this momentous question
slu> was evidently a century in advance of the age in which she
lived, and we press her claim to be regarded as a pioneer in the
glorious work of emancipation from the sway of the sterner sex !__
I3ut it were well that our modern Amazons, in carrying their
crude theories into practice in the actual relations of social life,
would exert their newly assumed powers in respect of the other
sex with half the modesty and benevolence and good sense mani-
fested towards her three husbands by the good wife of Culblair !

In the year 1800, John Mackenzie, son of James and Janet of
Culblair, married Isabella Fraser, younger daughter of James
Eraser or Machuistan,1 the farmer of Lettoch. The Machuistan
branch of the Frasers was reckoned one of the oldest and most
esteemed septs of that great clan — numbering within it many
worthy and pious men, both lay and clerical ; and James Mac-
huistan, Lettoch, was then one of the most highly respected
farmers in the whole country side. John Mackenzie might, there-
fore, consider himself to be a very fortunate man on the day
Isabella Fraser consented to become his wife. He is said to have
been then an uncommonly handsome and fine looking young man
— the best proportioned Highlander in the kilt that, strode along
the Muir of Ord Market Stance ; and, no doubt, this circumstance

1 James Fraser was born in the year 1730. We know the exact date
because he was 16 years of age when the battle of Culloden was fought.
Duncan Mackenzie, commonly called " Donachadh Glas." a very qld man,
many years ago related to me the following, which he had from James Eraser's
mouth. On the 17th of April, 1746, the day after the battle of Culloden was
fought, James, when working in one of the Lettoch fields, saw several fugitives
pass hy from the battle, and one poor man was wounded badly in a place
which shall not here be particularised. When James succeeded to the farm it
was, as part of the Lovat estate, let to him by Government Commissioners,
who were very lenient in charging rent. So much was this the case, that the
farmers on the estates did not pray for the return of Macshimidh, but rather
wished the Government regime to continue. Jam^s Fraser died in the year
1807. He and all his family were strict Episcopalians of the old school.

136 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

of his great personal beauty would have lent some additional
weight in pleading his cause with the cautions and dignified
Isabella of Lettoch. After his marriage he left Culblair and
settled down in Lettoch, the lands of which were eventually
divided between him and the Rev. William Paterson,1 Episcopal
Parson of Highfield, &c., who was married to James Fraser's elder
daughter ; and we know that John, as the husband of Isabella,
and farmer in Lettoch, and a corn dealer and exporter of barley to
boot, considered himself to be a man of no small importance in
those days.

When Seonaid Mhaiseach died, in the first years of this century,
the lands of Culblair were divided between William Henderson
and Donald Mackenzie, the former getting two-thirds, and the
latter one-third of the whole. It would appear that Henderson
got the original house, and that Donald had to build a house for
himself. Mr Maclean estimates th?.t the extent of the whole
holding could not have been much over 30 acres, at a rent of
probably about a pound an acre ; so that Henderson got 20 and
Donald 10 acres as their respective shares.

The question here arises, how did these people, on such small pieces
of. land, manage to make a living ? My answer is, that in those days
small farmers depended chiefly on the produce of smuggling, not
only for their own support, but also for the payment of their rents.
The proprietors knew this perfectly well, and in many cases aided
and abetted their tenants in the practice, because they knew they
were to be themselves sharers in whatever profits might be
made. Indeed, we cannot fully understand the land problem in
its various phases in the Highlands, along the course of this

1 The Rev. William Paterson was parish schoolmaster at Munlochy for
several years up till 1782. It is said that he was a first-rate teacher, and
made exceileut scholars. In 1783 he took orders in the Scottish Episcopal
Church, got married to Miss Eraser, Lettoch, and continued for a great many
years to officiate, which he did with much acceptance, to the Episcopalians of
Highfield, Arp*feelie, Fortrose, and those scattered over many other parts of
the north. Mr Paterson was an able, zealous, and good man, and did a noble
work in his day amongst his own people. His eldest daughter, Miss Paterson,
was a girl governess in Captain Macpherson, Ballachr can's family, when the
famous Gaick tragedy took place iu 1800, and she had a lively recollection of
the sensation it produced at the time, until the day of her death. A paper on
Episcopacy in the Black Isle, from a congenial and competent pen, would have
been a most interesting contribution to local ecclesiastical history. Certainly
in such a paper the labours of the Reverend William Paterson and those of his
s >n James, would have occupied an honourable and prominent position.
There was once a strong movement amongst the clergy to make Mr William
Paterson Bishop of Moray and Ross, and certainly, had they appointed him, he
would have adorned this position.

Letters, Ewen Maclachlan. 137

century, without taking the once very general practice of smuggling
into consideration as a branch of the enquiry. In some respects
it may be regarded as the key of the position. While smuggling
was a practical pursuit, small farming and crofting in a great
many places constituted the most profitable economic arrangement
of his estate for the proprietor ; and accordingly, as a rule, he
encouraged that class of tenantry. But when the fines inflicted by
the Excise came to be so heavy as to be ruinous to those who
practised smuggling, the proprietors turned round and not only
set themselves against this illegal practice, but also proceeded, in
many cases, to clear the small tenantry from off the face of their
estates, as an economic arrangement which, in the altered circum-
stances of the times, would never pay.

When Donald Mackenzie settled down in his own house in
Culblair, as was natural for a man in his circumstances and con-
dition, he began to look out for a wife, and, as luck would have
it, fell in love *vvith Anne Robertson, our good friend at Ardna-
grask. If he \vanted a good, sensible, thrifty housewife, he
certainly could not have made a better choice. But formidable
obstacles had to bo encountered. His friends no sooner heard of
it than they all rose up in arms against him ; and terrible were
the vials of abuse and vituperation, that were poured out on the
head of that poor woman ! John Mackenzie, Lettoch, made him-
self specially prominent in his opposition to Donald, his brother,
in the step the latter was about to take. Mr Maclean states as to
this — " It has been said that a brother of Donald's offered strong-
objection to the marriage, on account of her previous misfortune,
and having such a big stripling of a boy."

I have been so fortunate as to obtain from another source a Gaelic
metrical version of what purports to be a wordy duel between John
and Donald on this subject one day they chanced to meet at the
" Clach Seasairnh " or " Standing Stone," not far from the Muir of
•Ord Market Stance. It is as follows : —

Thubhairt Iain,

" Bu tus'a chaora mhaol, a Dho'uill,
A phosadh te le garlach gille
'A ghiulan i bho Inbhirlochaidh,
'S tha iris cho mor ri cabar sgillinn ;
Ach ni e buachaile duit, a Dho'uill ;
Is gearr's e moin' airson do theine ;
Is cuiridh e phoit dubh an or dagh ;
Is gairmear dheth do mhac a's sine."

138 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

That is — Said John,

" 0 Donald, thou'rt a hummil sheep,
To marry maid that has a stripling
She bore with her from Inverlochy,
And now's as tail's a penny caber ;
But, Donald, he will herd thy cattle ;
And cut peat fuel for thy fire ;
And eke will sort thy smuggling pot ;
And will be called thine eldest son."

Fhreagair Domhnull,

" Ged's cruaidh do thabhann, Iain Ruaidh,1
'S ann tha thu tabhann ris a ghealaich,
Oir posaidh rnise nighinn an t-saighdeir
Is bith's mi caoimhneil thaobh a bhallaich ;
Ach ged a phos thus nighinn Mhich Uisdein,
Le morari cliu ri taobh do theallaich,
Thig an la 's am feum thu giulan
Mach bho'n Lethdoch is tu falamh."

That is — Donald replied,

" Though hard's thy barking, John Roy,

'Tis at the moon that thou art barking ;

For I will wred the soldier's daughter,

And will be kindly to the laddie ;

Bat though thou didst wed MacHuistan's daughter

To grace with much renown thy fireside,

The day shall come when thou must bear her

Empty handed2 out from Lettoch."

1 John was auburn-haired, and so was known as "Iain Ruadh," that is
" John Roy" or " Red."

2 Curiously enough this prophecy came to pass. Some time after the
colloquy, John's rascally partner in business absconded, carrying with him the
proceeds of a cargo of barley, which had been shipped at Beauly pier. Per-
haps Donald had had a shrewd suspicion, or had heard rumours, that this
partnership was not a quite sound affair, and so gave expression to his opinion
as to the probable result. At anyrate, by the sad mishap John was reduced
to the verge of utter ruin. He bravely bore up under his misfortune ; and it
was then lie fully appreciated the value of having a good, wise, and sympathetic
wife, as Isabella Fi aser then and always proved herself to be to him. In pro-
cess of time the family removed to the farm of Balnaguie, on the estate of
Kilcoy, where John and his family by industry and frugality and care were
able to some extent to repair their early disaster in Lettoch. John was-
universally respected and beloved ; and his wife, as " Bean mhor Bhalna-
gaoithe," or "the big wife of Balnaguie," was probably one of the finest
specimens of a courteous, hospitable, charitable, and truly Christian farmer's
wife, ever known in that part of ihe country. She died in 1850 (the year of
her golden wedding) and John, her sorrowing husband, did not long survive
her.

Letters, Ewen Maclachlan. 139

Donald Mackenzie got married to Anne Robertson in the year

1806. The Maclachlan family not only warmly congratulated
Anne on the auspicious event, but also at once came to regard
Donald Mackenzie as one of themselves. There is something very
beautiful, and noble, and even romantic, in the voluntary com-
munication which the Maclachlans so faithfully kept up, first with
the Ardnagrask family, and thereafter with the Mackenzies of
Culblair as well. Here we perceive the fine influence of old
Donald Maclachlan constantly at work trying to get justice done
to the woman whom his son had so cruelly injured ; and, in the
correspondence, we likewise see the beautifully sympathetic and
humanising spirit of Ewen engaged in lovingly building up that
temple of happiness in a woman's heart, which his brother had so
ruthlessly tried to destroy.

By Anne Robertson, Donald had one son named John, born in

1807, and already referred to as the possessor of the Maclachlan
letters.

It would appear that many years before this time Hugh Mac-
lachlan had also proceeded to Jamaica, and there joined his
" unnamed" brother. This latter got married, and had at least
two sons, Donald and Alexander. These two were sent home to
be educated under their uncle Ewen, in the Grammar School, Old
Aberdeen. It would appear also that in his remorse for what he
had done, William Maclachlan's father willed at least part of his
property in Jamaica to his illegitimate son,1 and arranged with
Ewen to have him, too, educated in the Grammar School for a
Jamaica planter. William in due time proceeded from Arduagrask
to Old Aberdeen to board with his uncle ; and this prepares us to
read intelligently the letters that Ewen addressed to his good
friend, Donald Mackenzie, William's stepfather, at Culblair of
Highfield.

LETTER I.

" Old Aberdeen, June 3rd, 1816.

"Dear Donald, — Your handsome and very acceptable present
of the cask of Ferintosh whisky duly arrived. I beg your accept-
ance of my warm thanks for the trouble and expense to which
you have put yourself in supplying William and myself with so

1 It is probable that it was at the instance of old Donald Maclachlan that
his son made the will placing William Maclachlan on the same footing as the
latter's half-brothers, Donald and Alexander. If this be so. it is another
instance of the old man's endeavours to get justice done to Anne Robertson
and her son.

1 40 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

valuable a treat. The cask cannot just now be returned, but it
will before Christmas, perhaps before November visit you again,
filled with good Aberdeen stuff as before. The rum which I sent
at first was the History of Rome which I meant ; for, in reality, I
did not send a book. But, to make up for your disappointment, I
send by Mrs Fraser of the Devanha, a very good copy of Guthrie's
Geographical Grammar, perhaps the best work in the English
language for making you acquainted with all the countries on the
face of the earth, and with the history of their inhabitants.

"Your whisky being truly excellent, perhaps we may require
another supply, which you may send in December with a note of
the price - probably about the value of a pound or two. William,
who is to visit Beatify in summer, will treat with you more
particularly.

" When Anne was at Fort-William she signified a wish to
myself, Donald, and Alexander, that William should get a black
suit as well as his two brothers. To my unspeakable grief, he has
now got a black and a dear bought suit. He now has no grand-
father, and I have no father. His beloved friend, my thrice
venerable parent, died at Fort-William about the end of April, in
his own house, in the bosom of his own family, possessing his
perfect senses, and quite happy in bidding an eternal farewell to
this world of trouble. William has been of infinite use in helping
to bear me up through the torrent of grief, which had almost
overwhelmed me. But adored be the All wise Disposer, if
I have lost my parent, I have the incalculable pleasure of reflect-
ing that I received his last blessings, a legacy which I prefer to
the wealth of both the Indies.

" Offer William's love to his mother. William is very far,
indeed, from ' forgetting what passed between himself and his

rticular friend.' As you are that friend, he bids me tell you to
sure of fulfilling your part of the agreement, and he will
unquestionably fulfil his part of the obligation. I will myself put
him on the proper plan. Along with Guthrie's Grammar he has
sent his old clothes per the Devanha, for the use of his uncle
John. If any of the articles should not suit him, it will be freely
at your service.

" William, for sweetness of temper, prudence of conduct, and
unwearied industry in learning, possesses a middle place between
his brothers, Donald and Sandy. He was never before so happy.
Every one that knows him loves him. I think him uncommonly
successful in every branch of his studies. Already he can read
the English Collection, and even a part of the Gaelic Bible, with

Letters, Ewen Mac/achlan. 141

very respectable fluency. If God spares him for two years he will
be fit for Jamaica. Let none of his friends be troubling him just
now for money. If anything is in his power, he will do something
for his mother, whose claims on him are superior to those of every
other friend on earth. I love him most sincerely, and, I assure
you, the day he parts with me will leave me a heavy heart.
Compliments to Anne and her brother John from me, and
William's affectionate regards, — I am, dear Donald, while I live,
yours, with friendly wishes,

" EWEN MACLACHLAN."

To many good people in our day, the above letter will appear
to be a strange mixture — proceeding from Ferintosh whisky and
Aberdeen rum to give expression to such exquisitely beautiful
and touching sentiments regarding the dear ones within the circle
of his family relations. It is manifest that Ewen was an excellent
judge of a really good glass of whisky, and that he liked to have
some of the genuine " stuff" in his house to treat his friends with ;
but there is no evidence that the worthy hospitable man was ever
known to exceed the bounds of strict moderation in partaking of
what was evidently his favourite beverage. What was then known
as " Ferintosh whisky" was not what was exclusively made within
the Barony of Ferintosh, but what was smuggled throughout the
North ; and, doubtless, it was Donald himself that distilled the
excellent whisky he sent to his good friend, Ewen Maclachlan.
Indeed, as I have already noticed, Donald, as well as many others
at that time in his position, made his living and paid his rent by
smuggling ; and Ewen's opinion is conclusive evidence that the
whisky he made was of first-rate quality. Distillers in our day
deny this, but it is a fact.

It will be observed that Anne, Donald Mackenzie's wife, is
referred to here as having paid a visit to Fort-William sometime
before ; and it shews the position she held with regard to the
family, that she signified a wish to " Ewen, Donald, and Alexander,
that William should get a black suit as well as his two brothers."
From this she evidently considered her own son (doubtless in
virtue of the will in his favour) as on a platform of equality with
his two brothers. This leads Ewen to write that beautiful passage
on the death of his " thrice venerable parent," which must be
admired by all.

It will also be observed how attached Ewen became to his
nephew William. The young man, to all appearance, entwined
himself around the great poet-scholar's heart, and Ewen's warm

142 Gaelic Society of Inverness

eulogy of the good qualities of his nephew, and his declaration of
his love to him, must have brought tender tears to the eyes of
Anne, Donald's wife, at Culblair.

LETTER II.

"Dear Donald, — At William's request, though my hands be
bare, I enclose three pounds sterling, for part of which you must
send me some of your true Highland whisky when you can. We
have good hopes to hear from our friends abroad. But our
patience has yet some trials to undergo. However, while God has
the helm, we will not despair. With kindness to you, Mrs Mac-
kenzie, and all enquiring friends, we remain, yours affectionately,

"EWEN MACLACHLAN.

" WILLIAM MACLACHLAN.
"Old Aberdeen, Dec. 1st, 1817."

Another certificate in favour of the whisky which Donald distilled
is given to us in this joint letter written by Ewen, and signed by
both Ewen and William Maclachlan ! Here Ewen tells us that
his " hands were bare" — a clause of the sentence, significant alike
of his generosity and of the narrowness of his means. It may
also be observed that the subject of "no remittances from Jamaica"
begins to loom in this letter, which prepares us for a more serious
development of the same difficulty, as the correspondence goes on.

LETTER III.

"Old Aberdeen, 22nd July, 1818.

" My Dear Stepfather, — I arrived here Saturday night quite
safe after my voyage, with but little sickness. I am very sorry to
inform you that my uncle has not received a letter from Jamaica
since I went away to the Highlands, but we are expecting to hear
from them very soon. For my own part, I am not certain what
to do yet, but I shall let you know in a very short time. 1 am to
send away the box by the first packet ; she is to sail Wednesday
first. You will find the books in the box for my brother John,
which I promised to himself. I spoke to our landlord for the
honey, and he thinks it will be very cheap this year, about a
shilling the pound. I hope you will be so good as to send the
same box to my uncle when you can, and I will stand you for it.
I arn to put the carriage of the box with the books. I have no
particular news to inform you of, at present, worth mentioning.
My uncle and Sally wish to be most kindly remembered to you,

Letters, Euuen Maclach/an. 143

and to iny mother, and to your father, and to my uncle John, and
all friends who enquire for us. Give my love to my brother John.
I am, dear Stepfather, your affectionate Stepson,

" WILLIAM MACLACHLAN.
" All our boys went away last week to London."

The above letter is interesting, chiefly as a specimen of William
Maclachlan's capacity as a letter-writer. The penmanship is
excellent, and the composition is very creditable when we consider
the extraordinary fact that the writer had been over twenty years
of age before he knew the English alphabet. William Henderson's
aged daughter, to whom I have already referred, still remembers
having seen William, on several occasions, visiting Donald Mac-
kenzie's family after having come north from Old Aberdeen. She
describes him to Mr Maclean as "a tall, slim-built, handsome
young man, considerably over twenty years of age, as she thought,
and dark featured, having every appearance of a gentleman."
This testimony, taken in connection with the next letter in the
correspondence, indubitably proves that William began his studies
very late, and, such being the case, his letter is an evidence of
great industry and progress.

The favourite way of going to Aberdeen at that time was by a
sailing "packet." Another way was to go "by the coach." I
have heard of some students who walked all the way to Aberdeen,
each carrying a little box on his back. When the " steamers "
began to ply between Inverness and Aberdeen, they made a great
improvement in the means of locomotion, but how much more
pleasant and expeditious is our modern railway system, which we
have come to regard as a matter of course without reference to
previous means of locomotion.

Donald evidently had a number of " skeps " at Culblair, and
he probably wished to employ William, as a sort of middleman, to
get his honey disposed of to the best advantage in Aberdeen.
His stepson, having previously consulted his landlord on the
subject, was not able to hold out very bright hopes as to high
price for that commodity that year. It would probably fetch a
shilling per pound.

Several interesting names of persons crop up in this letter.
"Sally" was one of Ewen's sisters; "Uncle John" was John
Robertson, his uncle and foster brother ; and " your father" was
old James Mackenzie, the third husband of " Fair Janet of
Culblair." We are glad to learn that the worthy Patriarch was
still alive when this letter was written. Ewen has now some
measure of liberty, for all his " boy lodgers had gone away the
week before to London."

144 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

The subject of "no remittances from Jamaica " again appears
here, and constitutes the only sore point in the letter. Within
five short months poor William set sail for that wonderful island,
concerning which lie and his uncle Ewen had spoken so often, and,
alas ! he never came back again to tell the tale of his voyage !

LETTER IV.

" My Dear Donald, — With feelings of grief, that almost unfit
me for guiding the pen, I reluctantly communicate the intelligence
received from Jamaica, that poor William Maclachlan is no more !
He arrived at Kingston in Jamaica on the 8th of November, and
on the 9th fell into a fever which, nine days after its attack, ended
his dear life ! He was brought in a carriage out of Kingston to
St Mary's. Hugh and Alexander got him the best medical
assistance the island could afford, but the last three days it became
a brain fever, so that human aid was unavailing. He died on
Thursday, the 19th November, but Hugh does not specify the
hour; only I will expect full information in his next, which I
shall communicate to you accordingly. Of course he made no will,
so that Alexander, his brother,1 falls heir to the whole property.

'• It is extremely consoling to me, notwithstanding the
poignancy of my present grief, that, so far as conscience informs
me, I believe William found me all along a dutiful uncle. He
told you how I received him on his first visit to Aberdeen. When I
found myself in a condition, 1 brought him out again, and gave him
the best education the place or time could afford. He was universally
beloved and respected by his companions. He was taken into the
genteelest companies, and, in fact, made such progress in learn-
ing and good breeding that a year more would qualify him for the
situation of a planter in Jamaica. I wished him to wait here
another year, but he could not feel easy in the idea of burdening
me, as the people of Jamaica were so very backward in their
remittances. I adduced against that idea all the arguments in
my power, but, alas ! no arguments could turn away the appointed
hour ! The turf was shaped, the grave was opening, and his
earthly troubles were to be at an end ! I rigged him out till I
spent my last shilling, knowing well he would put me right at a
future time, but see how the Sovereign Disposer of the Universe
laughs at the folly of human schemes !

" William was a young man of uncommon decency and
propriety in his external behaviour. His natural talents were not

1 What about Donald ? Was he then dead ? Was he killed by one of the
" six arrows shot at our house from the bow of the fatal angel 1" &c.

Letters, Ewen Maclachlan. 145

great, but this defect he surmounted by the most unwearied
industry. When he came to me he was ignorant of the English
alphabet, but, before he went to Jamaica, he talked English with
the utmost fluency, could write a beautiful hand, and read English
and Gaelic, and figured not contemptibly. His continual conversa-
tion with me astonishingly improved his mind, and made him
learn ten times better than he could have done with any other
master. In that state of improvement and preparation I sent him
away. His uncle assures me, from what he has seen of him, that
he would be an ornament to society, had it pleased God to spare
him, but to the adorable decrees of Heaven we must submit !
This is the sixth arrow shot at our house from the bow of the
fatal angel since six years, but God gave and God hath taken ;
adored be His ever blessed name ! With friendly compliments to
you and the poor disconsolate mother, believe me, dear Donald,
yours very sincerely,

"EWEN MACLACHLAN.
"Aberdeen, Jan. 24th, 1819."

This letter is so wonderfully beautiful and pathetic, both as
an expression of E wen's own great grief at the loss of his favourite
nephew, and as an attempt to administer some consolation to the
" disconsolate " mother and other sorrowing relatives of the
deceased, that, it seems to me, any enlarged commentary on it
would here be entirely out of place. I regard it simply as a
gem that would form a very respectable addition to any collection
of consolatory letters, ancient or modern.

When the intelligence of William's death arrived, great was
the consternation and sorrow which it produced at Culblair and
Ardnagrask. Donald was very much affected, and it is said that,
when his wife heard the fatal tidings she swooned away. John,
then a boy of twelve, wept bitterly, and there is reason to believe
that he had a vivid recollection of that fireside scene until the day
of his death. As to "Uncle John" at Ardnagrask, it has already
been stated that, when he received the sad news, his hair turned
grey in one night, so great was his grief.

After the lapse of some time, the folks of Culblair and ArdnD-
grask, naturally astonished that they were not hearing a word ot
intelligence from Jamaica regarding the disposal of William's
estate willed to him by his father, resolved to write Ewen on the
subject. Accordingly, Donald, on the 25th of August, wrote him
to the effect that, whatever property was lefc by William Mac-
lachlan in the West Indies should now be given to his friends,
more especially his mother ; and that, at all events, Culblair and

10

146 Gaelic Society of Inverness

Ardnagrask had a strong claim on his effects in compensation of
what had been laid out in his late stepson's upbringing. This
letter elicited the following reply from Ewen : —

LETTER V.
"Old Aberdeen, Monday, Oct. 18th, 1819.

"Dear Donald, — I have before me your letter of the 25th
August, and would have duly answered it, but I was at that time
in Dundonald, near Kilmarnock, in Airshire, for the recovery of
my health, having been so poorly since February that I sometimes
apprehended death, and was for six months that I had not any
sound sleep, not for an hour. My disease was a nervous complaint
contracted by too much labour and confinement ; but now, thank
God, by help of a proper course of medicines, exercise, diet, and
amusement, I feel as active and healthy as ever I was in my life,
only I cannot as yet venture on hard study.

" To my utter astonishment, I have not heard a word from
Jamaica since I wrote you. I rather believe my brother and
nephew have gone someway wrong in their health or circumstances,
if they have not taken offence at some of the letters I have
written. My nephews, I assure you, have been dear relations to
me, in more senses than one. They owe me in all £350 sterling ;
but for this expense I have not received so much as thanks. In
reality they pay my letters no kind of attention.

" In the way of money, you are well aware that I have no
business whatever with any one of William's friends ; even if I
should inherit his whole property. For what I laid out on him I
have not received a farthing, so that after this no niece or nephew
shall ever have it in their power to gull me out of my property
again. At the same time, if you think proper, you may write
Alexander, his brother, and state to him what you have stated
to me ; but remember that, in every transaction of the kind, my
name must be left out for ever. With compliments to Mrs Mac-
kenzie, I remain, dear Donald, yours truly,

"EwEN MACLACHLAN."

In this letter we have indications that poor Ewen's system was
breaking down under the strain of hard work and perpetual worry
and monetary embarrassment. Doubtless, while residing in the
land of Burns, one source of pleasure would have been to hold
converse with the companions and memorials of the great departed
national poet of Scotland.

Ewen writes with severity regarding the conduct of his
brother and nephew in Jamaica, as to the dealings of the latter

Letters, Ewen Mac lac hi an. 147

towards both tbe ('ulblair people and himself in the matter of
mewm and 1uum. He had spent his " last shilling" in rigging out
poor William, and now lie eould not get a "single sixpence" from
those West Indies people, alt hough they owed him £350 sterling.
Kvidently his nephew Donald had also died, because we find now
<>nlv the names of his brother Hugh and nephew Alexander.

Meanwhile dark and probably uncharitable surmises and
suspicions were beginning to creep ever the minds of the Culblair and
Ardnagrask folks, as to the sudden death of William, based on the
circumstance that his property was so promptly " grabbed " by
the surviving relatives in .Jamaica. They, however, did not give
immediate expression to those feelings beyond the range of their
own little circle. Donald wrote Ewen again on the 5th Dec.,
1820, and this brings out E wen's last letter in this series, written
about 15 months or so before his death.

LETTER VI.

"Old Aberdeen, Dec. llth, 1820.

" Dear Donald, — Yours of the 5th instant is now before me.
I do not wonder at your surprise in not hearing from Jamaica
since I wrote you. For I have received only one letter from my
only brother, and that, too, telling me he would, in three or four
years from that time, be able to settle our account. Hugh barely
tells me that Alexander, my nephew, is in good health, but he
says nothing else about him.

"While Sandy was my pupil, he, as well as Donald and
William, said that they would shed their blood for me, should
occasion require it. I do not doubt but that may have been their
idea. But while they were with me, they were the receivers, not
the contributors, of favour. To me they owed almost their very
life. But once they got a cable's length from me, I could then
find out their real sentiments. As the result of the whole, you
will be astonished that I am out of pocket nearly 500 pounds
sterling with these people of Jamaica, all in a mass ; and God
knows when the fancy may strike them to put me right. But of
one thing I am certain, that not one of them, from first to last,
ever sent in my way the value of a single sixpence (I do not
except my very brother) though they all contrived, as much as in
them lay, to make me their stepping stone. They could not,
however, affect my character, and in that I rest perfectly satisfied.

"As Sandy has totally rejected me, it is no wonder if he should
not write you, as with you he has no connection whatever, except
being William's natural brother, he is nothing in your debt.

148 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

William, being a natural son, could make no will in the eye of the
law, and he has died intestate ; consequently his property, by the
will of his father, falls to Alexander alone, so that neither you nor
any of William's relations can claim a fraction of William's pro-
perty. No promises made to you or his mother can in any
respect be binding. For, in the eye of the law, he promised before
he was in lawful possession, therefore he promised what he could
not perform. I conceive it my duty to put you and his relations
right on that subject, that you may no longer build on a
foundation of sand.

"There will be no further necessity of your corresponding
with me on the subject ; but, should you think proper, you may
write Alexander, and address your letter as follows — * Alexander
Maclachlan, Esquire, care of Hugh Maclachlan, Esquire, Hume's
Vale, St Mary's, Jamaica.'

" If you write so, the letter will find Alexander ; and, if you
gain a farthing's worth by the correspondence, you will have
gained more than I have gained from the same thing in my life.
With good wishes to your wife and fireside, I remain, dear Donald,
yours ever, " E. M'LACHLAN."

In drawing up this paper, I wish to acknowledge the assistance
rendered me by many kind friends. From the Lochaber side I
have had valuable information communicated to me by the Rev.
Dr Stewart, " Nether Lochaber," Miss Cameron, Dornie Ferry, per
Mr Duncan Sinclair, Lochalsh, and several others. From the
Culblair and Ardnagrask side, I have been assisted by Mr Alexander
Mackenzie, Grandtully Station, Mr Campbell, schoolmaster, Beauly,
Mr Maclean, schoolmaster, Muir of Ord Public School, and others.

5th MARCH, 1890.

On this date, Mr Alexander Macbain, M.A., F.S.A. Scot.,
Inverness, read a paper entitled, " Badenoch : Its History, Clans,
and Place Names." It was as follows : —

BADENOCH : ITS HISTORY, CLANS, AND PLACE NAMES.

THE LORDSHIF OF BADENOCH.

Badenoch is one of the most interior districts of Scotland ; it
lies on the northern watershed of the mid Grampians, and the
lofty ridge of the Monadhlia range forms its northern boundary,
while its western border runs along the centre of the historic

Badenoch. H9

|)nnn-Alban. Even on its eastern side the mountains seem to
have threatened to run a barrier across, for Craigellachie thrusts
its huge nose forward into a valley already narrowed by the
massive form of the Ord Bain and the range of hills behind it.
This land of mountains is intersected by the river Spey, which
runs midway between the two parallel ranges of the Grampians
and the Moiiadhlia, taking its rise, however, at the ridge of Drum-
Alban. Badenoch, as a habitable land, is the valley of the Spey
and the glens that run off from it. The vast bulk of the district
is simply mountain.

In shape, the district of Badenoch is rectangular, with east-
north-easterly trend, its length averaging about thirty-two miles,
and its breadth some seventeen miles. Its length along the line
of the Spey is thirty-six miles, the river itself flowing some 35
miles of the first part of its course through Badenoch. The area
of Badenoch is, according to the Ordnance Survey, 551 square
miles, that is, close on three hundred and fifty-three thousand
acres. The lowest level in the district is 700 feet ; Kingussie, the
" capital," is 740 feet above sea-level, and Loch Spey is 1142 feet.
The highest peak is 4149 feet high, a shoulder of the Braeriach
ridge, which is itself outside Badenoch by about a mile, and Ben
Macdui by two miles. Mountains and rivers, rugged rocks and
narrow glens, with one large medial valley fringed with cultivation
— that is Badenoch. It is still well Avooded, though nothing to
what it once must have been. The lower ground at one time
must have been completely covered by wood, which spread away
into the vales and glens ; for we find on lofty plateaux and hill
sides the marks of early cultivation, the ridges and the rigs or
feannagan, showing that the lower ground was not very available
for crops on account of the forest, which, moreover, was full of
wild beasts, notably the wolf and the boar. Cultivation, there-
fore, ran mostly along the outer fringe of this huge \\ood, con-
tinually encroaching on it as generation succeeded generation.

The bogs yield abundant remains of the once magnificent
forest that covered hillside and glen, and the charred logs prove
that fire was the chief agent of destruction. The tradition of the
country has it that the wicked Queen Mary set fire to the old
Badenoch forest. She felt offended at her husband's pride in the
great forest — he had asked once on his home return how his
forests were before he asked about her. So she came north, took
her station on the top of Sron-na-Baruinn — the Queen's Ness —
above Glenfeshie, and there gave orders to set the woods on fire.
And her orders were obeyed. The Badenoch forest was set burn-

150 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

ing, and the Queen, Nero-like, enjoyed the blaze from her point of
vantage. But many glens and nooks escaped, and Rothiemurchus
was left practically intact. The Sutherland shire version of the
story is different and more mythic. The King of Lochlain wa&
envious of the great woods of Scotland ; the pine forests especially
roused his jealous ire. So he sent his muime — it must have been
— a witch and a monster, whose name was Dubh-Ghiubhais, and
she set the forests on fire in the north. She kept herself aloft
among the clouds, and rained down tire on the woods, which burnt
on with alarming rapidity. People tried to get at the witch, but
she never showed herself, but kept herself enveloped in a cloud of
smoke. When she had burned as far as Badenoch, a clever man
of that district devised a plan for compassing her destruction.
He gathered together cattle of all kinds and their young ; then he
separated the lambs from the sheep, the calves from the cows, and
the young generally from their dams ; then such a noise of bleat-
ing, lowing, neighing, and general Babel arose to the heaven that
Dubh-Ghiubhais popped her head out of the cloud to see what was
wrong. This wac the moment for action. The Badenoch man
was ready for it ; he had his gun loaded with the orthodox six-
pence ; he fired, and down came the Dubh-Ghiubhais, a lifeless
lump ! So a part of the great Caledonian forest was saved among
the Grampian hills.

Modern Badenoch comprises the parishes of Laggan, Kingussio
and Insh, and Alvie ; but the old Lordship of Badenoch was toe
aristocratic to do without having a detached portion somewhere
else. Consequently we find that Kincardine parish, now part of
Abernethy, was part of the Lordship of Badenoch even later than
1606, when Huntly excambed it with John of Freuchie for lands
in Glenlivet. Kincardine was always included in the sixty davachs
that made up the land of Badenoch. The Barony of Glencarnie
in Duthil — from Aviemore to Garten and northward to Inverlaid-
nan — wan seemingly attached to the Lordship of Badenoch for a
time, and so were the davachs of Tullochgorum, Curr, and Clurie
further down the Spey, excambed by Huntly in 1491 with John
of Freuchie. On the other hand, Rothiemurchus was never a
part of Badenoch, though some have maintained that it was. The
six davachs of Rothiemurchus belonged to the Bishops of Moray,
and at times they feued the whole of Rothiemurchus to some
powerful person, as to the Wolf of Badenoch in 1383, and to
Alexander Keyr Mackintosh in 1464, in whose family it was held
till 1539, when it passed into the hands of the Gordons, and from
them to the Grants.

Badenoch. 151

Badenoch does not appear in early Scottish history; till the
l.'Hli century, we never he:ir of it by name nor of anything that
took place within its confines. True, Skene, in his Celtic Scotland,
definitely states that the battle of Monitcarno was fought here in
7i".». This kittle took place between Angus, King of Fortrenn,
and Nectan, the ex-king of the Picts, and in it the latter was
det'eated, and Angus shortly afterwards established himself on the
IMctish throne. We are told that the scene of the battle was
".Monitcarno juxta stagnum Loogdae " — Monadh-carnach by the
side of Loch Loogdae. Adainnan also mentions Lochdae, which
Columba falls in with while going over Drum Alban. Skene says
that Loch lush— the lake of the island — is a secondary name, and
that it must have originally been called Lochdae, that the hills
behind it enclose the valley of Glencarnie, and that Dunachton,
by the side of Loch Insh, is named Nectan's fort after King
Nect;m. Unfortunately this view is wrong, and Badenoch must
give up any claim to be the scene of the battle of Monadh-carno ;
Lochdae is now identified with Lochy, and Glencarnie is in Duthil.
But Dunachton is certainly Nectan's fort ; whether the Nectan
meant was the celebrated Pictish King may well be doubted.
Curiously, local tradition holds strongly that a battle was fought
by the side of Loch Insh, but the defeated leader was King Harold,
whose grave is on the side of Craig High Harailt.

From 729, we jump at once to 1229, exactly five hundred
years, and about that date we find that Walter Cumyn is feudal
proprietor of Badenoch, for he makes terms with the Bishop of
Moray in regard to the church lands and to the "natives" or
kmdsmen in the district. It has been supposed that Walter
Cumyn came into the possession of Badenoch by the forfeiture and
death of Gillescop, a man who committed some atrocities in 1228
— such as burning the (wooden) forts in the province of Moray,
and setting fire to a large part of the town of Inverness. William
Cumyn, Earl of Buchan, the justiciar, was intrusted with the
protection of Moray, and in 1229 Gillescop and his two sons were
slain. Thereafter we find Walter Cumyn in possession of Badenoch
and Kincardine, and it is a fair inference that Gillespie was his
predecessor in the lordship of Badenoch. The Cummings were a
Norman family ; they came over with the Conqueror, and it is
asserted that they were nearly related to him by marriage. In
1068, we hear of one of them being governor or earl of Northumber-
land, and the name is common in English charters of the 12th
century, in the early part of which they appear in Scotland ; they
were in great favour with the Normanising David, and with

152 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

William after him, filling offices of chancellors and justiciars under
them. William Curnyn, about the year 1210, married Marjory,
heiress of the Earldom of Buchan, and thus became the successor
of the old Celtic Mormaers of that district under the title of Earl
of Buchan. His son Walter obtained the lordship of Badenoch, as
we saw, and, a year or two after, ha became Earl of Menteith by
marrying the heiress, the Countess of Menteith. He still kept the
lands of Badenoch, for, in 1234, we find him, as Earl of Menteith,
settling a quarrel with the Bishop of Moray over the Church lands
of Kincardine. Walter was a potent factor in Scottish politics,
and in the minority of Alexander III. acted patriotically as leader
against the pro-English party. He died in 1257 without issue.
John Comyn, his nephew, son of Richard, succeeded him in
Badenoch ; he was head of the whole family of Comyn, and
possessed much property, though simply entitled Lord of
Badenoch. The Comyns at that time were at the height of their
power ; they could muster at least two earls, the powerful Lord of
Badenoch, and thirty belted knights. Comyn of Badenoch was a
prince, though not in name, making treaties and kings. John
Comyn, called the Red, died in 1274, and was succeeded by his son
John Comyn, the Black, and in the troubles about the kingly
succession, at the end of the century, he was known as John de
Badenoch, senior, to distinguish him from his son John, the Red
Comyn, the regent. Baliol's nephew, and claimant to the throne,
whom Brace killed under circumstances of treachery at Dumfries,
in 1306. Then followed the fall and forfeiture of the Comyns,
and the lordship of Badenoch was given, about 1313 — included in
the Earldom of Moray— to Thomas Randolph, Bruce's right-hand
friend.

The Cummings have left an ill name behind them in Badenoch
for rapacity and cruelty. Their treachery has passed into a
proverb —

"Fhad bhitheas craobh 'sa choill

Bithidh foill 'sna Cuiminich."

Which is equally smart in its English form —

" While in the wood there is a tree
A Gumming will deceitful be."

It is in connection with displacing the old proprietors — the Shaws
and Mackintoshes — that the ill repute of the Cummings was
really gained. But the particular cases which tradition remembers
are mythical in the extreme ; yet there is something in the tradi-
tions. There is a remembrance that these Cummings were the

Badenoch. \ 53

first feudal lords of Badenoch ; until their time the Gaelic Tuath
that dwelt in Badenoch had lived under their old tribal customs,
with their toiseachs, their aires, and their saor and daor occupiers
of land. The newcomers, with their charters, their titles, and
their new exactions over and above the old Tuath tributes and
dues, must have been first objects of wonder, and then of disgust.
The authority which the Cummings exerted over the native
inhabitants must often have been in abeyance, and their rents
more a matter of name than reality. However, by making it the
interest of the chiefs to side with them, and by granting them
charters, these initial difficulties were got over in a century or two.
It was under this feudalising process that the system of clans, as
now known, was developed.

Earl Randolph died in 1332, and his two sons were succes-
sively Earls of Moray, the second dying in 1346 without issue,
when " Black Agnes," Countess of Dunbar, succeeded to the vast
estates. The Earldom of Moray, exclusive of Badenoch and
Lochaber, was renewed to her son in 1372.1 Meanwhile, in 1371
Alexander Stewart, King Robert's son, was made Lord of Badenoch
by his father, as also Earl of Buchan ; and in 1387 he became
Earl of Ross through his marriage with the Countess Euphame
His power was therefore immense ; he was the king's lieutenant in
the North (locum tenens in borealibus partilms regni) ; but such
was the turbulence and ferocity of his character that he was called
the "Wolf of Badenoch." He is still remembered in the tradi-
tions of the country as "Alastair Mor Mac an Righ" — Alexander
the Big, Son of the King — a title which is recorded also in Maurice
Buchanan's writings (A.D. 1461, Book of Pluscarden), who says
that the wild Scots (Scotis silvestrilms) called him "Alitstar More
Makin Re." Naturally enough he gets confused with his famous
namesake of Macedon, also Alastair Mor, but the more accurate
of tradition-mongers differentiate them easily, for they call Alex-

1 Sir W Eraser, in his "History of the Grants," says: — "After the
forfeiture of the Comyns, Badenoch formed a part of the earldom of Moray,
conferred on Sir Thomas Randolph. In 1338, however, it was held l>y the
Earl of Ross, and in 1372, while granting the Earldom of Moray to John
Dunbar, King Robert II. specially excepted Lochaber and Budenoch." Sir
"W. Eraser's authority for saying that Badenoch was in the possession of the
Earl of Ross must be the charter of 1338 granting Kinrara and Dalnavert to
Melmoran of Glencharny ; but a careful reading of that document shows that
the Earl of Ross was not superior of Badenoch, for he speaks of the services
due by him to the " Lord superior of Badeuoch." Be-ides, in 1467, when
Huntly was Lord of Badenoch, we find the Earl of Ross still possessing lands
there, viz., Invermarkie, which he gives to Cawdor as part of his daughter's
dowry.

154 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

ander the Great " Alastair Uabh'rach, Mac Righ Philip " — " Alex-
ander the Proud, son of King Philip." This epithet of uabh'rach
or uaibhreach appears as applied to Alexander the Great in that
beautiful mediaeval Gaelic poem that begins —

" Ceathrar do bhi air uaighan fhir
Feart Alaxandair Uaibhrigh :
Ro chausat briathra con bhreicc
Os cionii na flatha a Fhinnghreic."
Translated —

Four men were at a hero's grave —

The tomb of Alexander the Proud ;

Words they spake without lies

Over the chief from beauteous Greek-land.1

The Wolf of Badenoch's dealings with his inferiors in his lord
ship are not known ; but that he allowed lawlessness to abound
may be inferred from the feuds that produced the Battle of Inver-
iiahavon (circ. 1386), and culminated in the remarkable conflict
on the North Inch of Perth in 1396. We are not in much doubt
as to his conduct morally and ecclesiastically. He had five
natural-born sons — Alexander, Earl of Mar, Andrew, Walter,
James, and Duncan — -a regular Wolf's brood for sanguinary
embroilments. He had a chronic quarrel with Alexander Bur,
Bishop of Moray, which culminated in the burning of Elgin
Cathedral in 1390. But in nearly every case the Bishop, by the
terrors of the Curse of Rome, gained his point. In 1380, the
Wolf cited the Bishop to appear before him at the Standing Stones
of the Rathe of Easter Kiiigussie (apud le standand stanys de le
Rathe de Kyngucy estir) on the 10th October, to show his titles
to the lands held in the Wolf's lordship of Badenoch, viz., the
lands of Logachnacheny (Laggan), Ardinche (Balnespick. &c.),
Kingucy, the lands of the Chapels of Rate and Nachtan, Kyn-
cardyn, and also Gartinengally. The Bishop protested, at a court
held at Inverness, against the citation, and urged that the said
lands were held of the King direct. But the Wolf held his court
on the 10th October : the Bishop standing "extra curiam" — out-
side the court, i.e., the Standing Stones — renewed his protest, but
to no purpose. But upon the next day before dinner, and in the
great chamber behind the hall in the Castle of Ruthven, the Wolf
annulled the proceedings of the previous day, and gave the rolls
of Court to the Bishop's notary, who certified that he put them in

1 See " Dean of Lismore," p. 84 ; Ranald Macdonald's Collection, p. 133,
and Highland Monthly, II., p. 376. (The above is from a British Museum MS.)

Badenoch. ir>:>

a large fire lighted in the said chamber, which consumed them.
In 1381, the Wolf formally quits claims on the above-mentioned
church lands, but in 1383 the Bishop granted him the wide
domain of Rothiernurchus — " Ratmorchus, viz., sex davatas terre
quas habemus in Strathspe et le Badenach "— six davochs of land
it was. The later quarrels of the Wolf and the Bishop arc-
notorious in Scotch History : the Wolf seized the Bishop's lands,
and was excommunicated, in return for which he burnt, in 1390,
the towns of Forres and Elgin, with the Church of St Giles, the
maison dieu, the Cathedral, and 18 houses of the canons. For
this he had to do penance in the Blackfriar's Church at Perth.
He died in 1394, and is buried in Dunkeld, where a handsome
tomb and effigy of him exist.

As the Wolf left no legitimate issue, some think the Lordship
of Badenoch at once reverted to the Crown, for we hear no more
of it till it was granted to Huntly in 1451. On this point Sir W.
Fraser says : — " The Lordship of Badenoch was bestowed by King-
Robert II. upon his son, the 'Wolf of Badenoch,' in 137!, and
should have reverted to the Crown on the Lord of Badenoch's
death in 1394. But there is no evidence in the Exchequer Roll,
or elsewhere, of any such reversion, and Badenoch seems to have
been retained in possession by the Wolf of Badenoch's eldest son,
who became Earl of Mar. . . . Alexander, Earl of Mar, and
his father, were therefore the successors of the Comyns as Lords
of Badenoch."

The Lordship of Badenoch was finally granted to Alexander,
Earl of Huntly, by James II., by charter dated 28th April, 1451,
not in recompense for his services at the Battle of Breehin, as is
generally stated, but upwards of a year before that event. The
great family of Gordon and Huntly originally came from near the
Borders. They obtained their name of Gordon from the lands of
Gordon, now a parish and village in the west of the Merse, S.W.
Berwickshire. There, also, was the quondam hamlet of Huntly, a
name now represented there only by the farm called Huntly wood.
The parish gave the family name of Gordon, and the hamlet of
Huntly gave the title of Earl or Marquess of Huntly. Sir Adam
de Gordon was one of Bruce's supporters, and after the forfeiture
of the Earl of A thole he got the lordship of Strathbogie, with all
its appurtenances, in Aberdeenshire and Banff. The direct mate
Gordon line ended with Sir Adam's great-grandson and namesake,
who fell at the battle of Homildon Hill in 1402, leaving a daughter
Elizabeth, who married Alexander Seaton, second son of Sir W.
Seaton of Win ton. Her son Alexander assumed the name of

156 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Gordon, and was created Earl of Huntly in 1449. His son George
was Lord Chancellor, founded Gordon Castle, and erected the
Priory of Kingussie (Shaw's Moray). The Gordons were so pre-
eminent in Northern politics that their head was nicknamed
"Cock of the North." In 1599, Huntly was created a Marquis,
and in 1684 the title was advanced to that of Duke of Gordon.
George, the fifth and last Duke of Gordon, died in 1836, when the
property passed into the possession of the Duke of Richmond and
Lennox, as heir of entail, in whose person the title of Duke of
Gordon was again revived in 1876, the full title being now Duke
of Richmond and Gordon.

Save the Church lands, ell the property in Badenoch belonged
to Huntly either as superior or actual proprietor. The Earl of
Ross possessed lands in Badenoch under the lord superior in 1338,
which hi granted to Malmoran of Glencarnie : the lands were
Dalnavert and Kinrara, and the grant is confirmed about 1440,
while in 1467 we find the Earl of Ross again granting the
adjoining lands of Invermarkie to the Thane of Cawdor, in
whose name they appear till the seventeenth century, when
Invereshie gets possession of them, The Laird of Grant, besides
Delfour, which he had for three centuries, also held the Church
lands of Laggan and Insh, that is, "Logane, Ardinche, Ballynaspy,"
as it is stated in 1541, and he is in possession of them for part of
the seventeenth century. Mackintosh of Mackintosh has in feu
from Huntly in the sixteenth century the lands of Beiichar, Clune,
Kincraig, and Dunachton, with Rait, Kinrara, and Dalnavert,
The only other proprietor or feuar besides these existing in the
16th century seems to have been James Mackintosh ot Gask.
The Macphersons, for instance, including Andrew in Cluny, who
signed for Huntly the "Clan Farsons Band" of 1591, are all
tenants merely. We are very fortunate in possessing the Huntly
rental of Badenoch for the year 1603. Mackintosh appears as
feuar for the lands above mentioned, and there are two wadsetters
— Gask and Stroue, both Mackintoshes. The 17th century sees
quite a revolution in landholding in Badenoch, for during its
course Huntly has liberally granted feus, and the proprietors are
accordingly very numerous. Besides Huntly, Mackintosh, and
Grant of Grant, we find some twenty feus or estates possessed by
Macphersons ; there was a Mncpherson of Ardbrylach, Balchroan,
Benchar, (in) Blarach, Breakachie, Clune, Cluny, Corranach,
Crathie, Dalraddy, Delfour, Etteridge, Gasklyne, Gellovie, Inver-
eshie, Invernahaven (Inverallochie), Invertromie, Nuid, Phones,
and Pitchirn. There was a Mackintosh of Balnespick, Benchar,

Badenoch. 157

Delfour, Gask, Kinrara, Lynwilg, Rait and Strone — eight in all.
Four other names appear once each besides these during the
century — Maclean, Gordon of Buckie, Macqueen, and Macdonald.
The total valuation of Badenoch in 1644 was £11,527 Scots, in
1691 .£6523, and in 1789 it was £7124, with only seven proprietors
— Duke of Gordon, Mackintosh, Cluny, Invereshie, Belleville,
Grant of Grant (Delfour), and Major Gordon (Invertromie). The
"wee lairdies" of the ] revions two centuries were swallowed up in
the estates of the first five of these big proprietors, who still hold
large estates in Badenoch, the Duke of Gordon being represented
by the Duke of Richmond since 1836. Only one or two other
proprietors on any large scale have come in since — Baillie of
Dochfour, Sir John Ramsden, and, we may add, Macpherson of
Glentruim. The valuation roll for 1889-90 showrs a rental of
£36,165 lls 7d sterling.

CLAN CHATTAN.

In the above section we discussed the political history of
Badenoch, under the title of the " Lordship of Badenoch," and in
this section we intend to deal with the history of the native popu-
lation of that district. Badenoch was the principal seat of the
famous and powerful Clan Chattan. The territory held by this
clan, however, was far from being confined to Badenoch ; for at
the acme of their power in the 15th century, Clan Chattan stretched
across mid Inverness-shire, almost from sea to sea — from the
Inverness Firth to near the end of Loch-eil, that is, from Petty
right along through Strathnairn, Strathdearn, and Badenoch to
Brae-Lochaber, with a large overflow through Rothiemurchus into
Braemar, which was the seat of the Farquharsons, who are descen-
dants of the Shaws or Mackintoshes of Rothiemurchus. The Clan
Chattan were the inhabitants of this vast extent of territory, but
the ownership or superiority of the land was not theirs or their
chiefs', and the leading landlords they had to deal with were the
two powerful Earls of Huntly and Moray. From them, as
superiors, Mackintosh, chief of Clan Chattan, held stretches of
land here and there over the area populated by the clan, and his
tribesmen were tacksmen or feu-holders of the rest, as the case
might be, under Moray or Huntly. It was rather an anomalous
position for a great Highland chief, and one often difficult to
maintain. Major (1521) describes the position, territorially and
otherwise, of the Clans Chattan and Cameron in words which may
be thus translated : — "These tribes are kinsmen, holding little in
lordships, but following one head of their race (caput progenei — •

158 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

ceann ciimidh) as chief, with their friends and dependents." The
lordships were held, alas ! by foreigners to them in race and blood.

The Clan Chattan were the native Celtic inhabitants of
Badenoch. There are traditional indications that they came from
the west — from Lochaber, where the MS. histories place the old
Clan Chattan lands. The same authorities record that, for
instance, the Macbeans came from Lochaber in the 14th century,
" after slaying the Red Coinyn's captain of Inverlochy," and put
themselves under the protection of Mackintosh ; and this is sup-
ported by the tradition still preserved among the Rothiemurchus
Macbeans, whose ancestor, Bean Cameron, had to fly Lochaber
owing to a quarrel and slaughter arising from the exaction of the
"b6 ursainn," or probate duty of the time. It may be too bold
to connect this eastern movement of Clan Chattan with the
advancing tide of Scotic conquest in the 8th century, whereby the
Pictish Kingdoms and the Pictish language were overthrown.
That the Picts inhabited Badenoch is undoubted : the place names
amply prove that, for we meet with such test prefixes as Pet
(Pitowrie, Pictchirn, Pitmean) and Aber (Aberarder), and other
difficulties of topography unexplainable by the Gaelic language.
As in most of Scotland, we have doubtless to deal, first, with a
pre-Celtic race or races, possibly leaving remnants of its tongue in
such a river name as Feshie, then the Pictish or Caledonian race
of Celtic extraction, and, lastly, the Gaelic race who imposed their
language and rule upon the previous peoples. The clan traditions
are supported in the matter of a western origin for the Clan
Chattan by the genealogies given in the 1467 MS., which deduces
the chief line from Ferchar Fota, King of Dalriada, in the 7th
century.

The name Cattan, like everything connected with the early
history of this clan, is obscure, and has, in like manner, given rise
to many absurd stories and theories. As a matter of course, the
Classical geography of Europe has been ransacked, and there, in
Germany, was a people called Chatti, which was taken as pro-
nounced Catti ; but the ch stands for a sound like that in locA.
The name now appears as Hesse for Hatti. It was never Katti,
be it remembered. Yet the Catti are brought from Germany to
Sutherlandshire, which in Gaelic is Cataobh, older Cataib — a name
supposed thus to be derived from the Catti. Cataobh is merely
the dative plural of cat (a cat), just as Gallaobh (Caithness) is the
same case of Gall (a stranger, Norseman). The Cat men dwelt in
Sutherlandshire ; why they were called the Cats is not known.
Clan Chattan is often said to be originally from Sutherland, but,

Badenoch. 159

beyond the similarity of name, there is no shadow of evidence for
the assertion. Others again, like Mr Elton, see in the name
Catan, which means, undoubtedly, " little cat," relics of totemism ;
this means neither more nor less than that the pre-Christian Clan
Chattan worshipped the cat, from whom, as divine ancestor, they
deemed themselves descended. We might similarly argue that
the Mathesons — Mac Mhath-ghamhuin or Son of the Bear — were
a "bear" tribe, a fact which shows how unstable is the foundation
on which this theory is built. In fact, animal names for men
were quite common in early times. The favourite theory — and
one countenanced by the genealogies — connects the Clan Chattan,
like so many other clans, with a church-derived name. The
ancestor from whom they are represented as deriving their
name is Gillicattan Mor, who lived in the llth century. His
name signifies Servant of Catan, that is, of St Catan ; for people
were named after saints, not directly, but by means of the prefixes
Gille and Maol. At least, that was the early and more reverent
practice. That there was a St Catan is evidenced by such place
names as Kilchattan (in Bute and Lung), with dedication of
churches at Gigha and Colonsay. His date is given as 710, but
really nothing is known of him. This is probably the best
explanation of the name, though the possibility of the clan being-
named after some powerful chief called Catan must not be over-
looked. The crest of the cat is late, and merely a piece of mild
heraldic punning.

It is only about or after 1400 that we come on anything like
firm historical ground in the genealogy and story of our chief
Highland clans. This is true of the Grants and the Camerons,
and especially true of the Clan Chattan. Everything before that
is uncertainty and fable. The earliest mention of Clan Chattan —
and it is not contemporary but fifty years later — is in connection
with the fight at the North Inch of Perth in 1396, and here
historians are all at sixes and sevens as to who the contending
parties really were. The battle of Invernahavon (1386?) and the
fight at Clachnaharry (1454) are mere traditions, and the battle
in 1429 between Clan Chattan and Clan Chameron, in which the
former nearly annihilated the latter, is recorded by a writer nearly
a century later (1521). In fact, the first certain contemporary
date is that of Mackintosh's charter in 1466 from the Lord of the
Isles, where he is designated Duncan Mackintosh, " capitanus de
Clan Chattan," and next year as " chief and captain" of Clan
Chattan, in a bond with Lord Forbes. Henceforward, Clan
Chattan is a common name in public history and private docu-

160 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

ments. It comprised in the period of its comparative unity
(circ. 1400-1600) some sixteen tribes or septs : these were the Mac-
kintoshes, Macphersons, Davidsons, Cattanachs, Macbeans, Mac-
phails, Shaws, Farquharsons, Macgillivrays, Macleans of Doch-
garroch, Smiths, Macqueens, Gillanders, Clarks, &c. Of this con-
federation, Mackintosh was for, at least, two centuries " captain
and chief," as all documents, public and private, testify. These
two centuries (circ. 1400 to 1600) form the only period in which
we see, under the light of history, the Highland clans in their full
development.

The 17th century made sad havoc in the unity of Clan
Chattan. Huntly, ever an enemy to Mackintosh, " banded" in
1591 the Macphersons to his own person, and, by freely granting
charters to them, made them independent, and detached them
from Mackintosh. Macpherson of Cluny claimed to be head of
the Macphersons, and in 1673 styled himself "Duncan Mcpherson
of Cluney for himself, and taking burden upon him for the heall
name of Mcphersons and some others called old Clanchattan as
cheeffe and principal! man thereoff," in a bond with Lord Mac-
donell of Morar. In support of this claim, the Macphersons
appealed to the old genealogies, which represented Mackintosh as
getting the Clan Chattan lands by marriage with the heiress in
1291, and which further showed that Cluny was the heir male
descendant of the old Clan Chattan chiefs. The case in its
solemn absurdity of appeal to genealogies reminds one of a like
appeal placed before the Pope in the claims of King Edward upon
the throne of Scotland. He claimed the Scottish crown as the
direct successor of Brutus and Albanactus, who lived in Trojan
times, every link of genealogy being given, while the Scots
repelled this by declaring that they were descended from Gathelus
husband of Scota, daughter of the Mosaic King of Egypt ; and
here, too, all the genealogical links could have been given.
Neither doubted the genuineness of each other's genealogies ! So-
with the Mackintosh-Macpherson controversy about the chief ship
of Clan Chattan. They each accept each other's genealogies
without suspicion or demur. And yet the manufacture of these
and like genealogies was an accomplished art with Gaelic seanachies
whether Irish or Scottish. We even see it going on under our
very eyes. The early chiefs of Lochiel are the de Cambruns of the
13th and 14th century records — lists and other documents —
impressed into the Cameron genealogy, which is doubtless
correctly given in the 1467 MS. Again, the Macpherson
genealogy in the Douglas Baronage is in several cases drawn from

Badenoch. 1G1

charters granted to wholly different families. Dormund Mac-
pherson, 12th chief, gets a charter under the great seal from
James IV.; but the charter turns out to be one granted to a
Dormund MTherson in the Lordship of Menteith, not of
Badenoch! John, 14th of Cluny, who u was with the Earl of
Huntly at the battle of Glenlivet," as the veracious chronicler
says, to add a touch of realism to his bald genealogical account,
gets a charter of the lands of Tullich, &c., lands which lie in
Strathnairn, and he turns out to be a scion of the well-known
family of Macphersons of Briu I Similarly John, 15th of Cluny,
is son of the foregoing John of Brin ; and Ewen, 16th of Cluny,
who gets a charter in 1623 of the lands of Tullich, &c., is a cousin
of Brin. Donald, 17th of Cluny, who gets a charter in 1643,
turns out to be Donald Macpherson of Nuid. And all this time
another and a correct genealogy of the Cluny family had been
drawn up by Sir yEneas Macpherson towards the end of the 17th
century, which must surely have been known to the writer.1
During all the period of 14th to 16th chief here given, there
was only one man in Cluny, and his name was Andrew Mac-
pherson, son of Ewen.

The name Mackintosh signifies the son of the toiseach or chief,
which is Latinised by Flaherty as "capitaneus seu praecipuus
dux." The Book of Deer makes the relationship of toiseach to
other dignitaries quite plain. There is first the King; under him
'ire the mormaers or stewards of the great provinces of Scotland,
such as Buchan, Marr, and Moray ; and next comes the toiseach or
chief of the clan in a particular district. The two clans in the
Book of Deer are those of Caiian and Morgan, each with a toiseach.
This word is represented oftenest in English in old documents by
thane, which, indeed, represents it with fair accuracy. Toiseach is
the true Gaelic word for " chief," but it is now obsolete, and there
is now no true equivalent of the word " chief" in the language at
all. And here it may be pointed out that the word chief itself
was not at once adopted or adapted for this particular meaning of
chief of a Highland clan As we saw, the word at first employed
was "captain," then "captain and chief," "captain, chief, and
principal man," " chief and principal," &c., the idea finally
.settling down as fully represented by the word "chief" in the 16th
century. Skene's attempt to argue that captain denoted a leader
temporarily adopted, leading the clan for another, or usurping the
power of another, while chief denoted a hereditary office, is con-

1 See Mr Fraser- Mackintosh's Dunachton, pp. 46-49, for a full expos6 of this
remarkable piece of manufacture.

11

162 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

demned by his own evidence, and by the weight of facts. Besides,
words do not suddenly spring into technical meanings, nor could
chief acquire the definite meaning applicable to Highland chief-
ship, but by length of time and usage for this purpose. Hence
arose the uncertainty of the early terms applied to the novel idea
presented by Highland clans. The word clan itself appears first
in literature in connection with Clan Chattan, or rather Clan
Qwhewyl, at the North Inch of Perth, where Wyntown speaks of
" Clannys twa." The Gaelic word clan had to be borrowed for want
of a native English term ; why should we then wonder at the idea
of toiseach being rendered first by captain, and latterly by chief ?

The Mackintosh genealogies, dating from the 17th century,
represent the family as descended from Macduft, thane of Fife, as
they and Fordun call him. Shaw Macduff, the second son of
Duncan, fifth Earl of Fife, who died in 1154, in an expedition
against the people of Moray in 1160, distinguished himself, and
received from the King lands in Petty, and the custody of Inver-
ness Castle. Here he was locally known as Shaw Mac an Toiseich,
"Shaw, the son of the Thane." He died in 1179, and was suc-
ceeded by (2) Shaw, whose son was (3) Ferchard, whose nephew
was (4) Shaw, whose son was (5) Ferchard, whose son was (6)
Angus, who in 1291 married Eva, heiress of Clan Chattan, and
thus got the Clan's lands in Lochaber. So far the genealogy. It
is a pretty story, but it sadly lacks one thing — verisimilitude.
Macduff was not toiseach of Fife. In the Book of Deer he is called
comes, the then Gaelic of which was mormaer, now moirear. Shaw
Macduff would infallibly, as son of the Earl of Fife, have been
called Mac Mhoireir. With those who support this MacdufF
genealogy, no argument need be held ; like the humorist of a past
generation, one would, however, like to examine their bumps.
The statement that the Mackintoshes were hereditary constables
of Inverness Castle is totally baseless and false. At the dates
indicated (12th century) we believe that the Mackintoshes had
not penetrated so far north as Petty or Inverness, and that we
should look to Badencch as their place of origin, a,nd their abode
at this time. Unfortunately documents in regard to the early
history of Badenoch are rare, but an entry or two in the Registrum
of Moray Diocese may help us. In 1 234, Walter Comyn, Earl of
Monteith, comes to an agreement with the Bishop of Moray, in
regard to Kincardine, and Fercard, son of Seth, is a witness,
and in the very next document, also one of Walter Comyn's,
of the same date, appears a witness called Fercard " Senescalli de
Badenoch," that is " steward of Badenoch." We are quite justified

Badenoch. 163

in regarding liini as the person mentioned in the previous
document as Fercard, son of Seth. Now, one translation of
toitcach is steward or seneschal — the person in power next the
ninnnaer or earl. We may, therefore, conclude that this Ferchard
was known in Gaelic as Ferchard Toiseach. Similarly in 1440 we
meet with Malcolm Mackintosh, chief of the clan, as "ballivus de
Badenoch," a title of equal import as that of seneschal. We
should thru say that the Mackintoshes derived their name from
being toiseachs of Badenoch, the head of the old Celtic clan being
now under the new non-Celtic mormaer or earl Walter Comyn.
The ease with which the name Mackintosh might arise in any
place where a clan and its toiseach existed explains how we meet
with Mackintoshes, for instance, in Perthshire, who do not belong*
to the Clan Cliattan. Thus there were Mackintoshes of Glentilt,
which was held as an old thanage, and whose history as such is
well known. Similarly we may infer that the Mackintoshes of
Monivaird were descendants of the old local Toiseachs or Thanes.
The Mackintosh genealogists have of course annexed them to the
Clan Cliattan stock with the utmost ease and success. In 1456,
John of the Isles granted to Somerled, his armour-bearer, a davoch
of the lands of Glennevis, with toiseachdorship of most of his other
lands there, and in 1552 this grant is renewed by Huntly to
" dilecto nostro Donaldo MacAlister M'Toschd," that is, Donald,
son of Alister, son of Somerled, the toiseach or bailif, named in
1456. This shows how easily the name could have arisen.

Skene, while unceremoniously brushing aside the Macduflf
genealogy, advances hypothetically a different account of the
origin of the Mackintoshes. In 1382, the Lord of Badenoch is
asked to restrain Farchard MacToschy and his adherents from
disturbing the Bishop of Aberdeen and his tenants in the land of
Brass or Birse, and to oblige him to prosecute his claim by form
of law. Skene thinks that Farchard, whom he finds in the 1467
MS. as one of the "old" Mackintoshes, was descended from the
old thanes of Brass, and that hence arose his name and his claim.
Brin^ a vassal of the Wolf's, he was a Badenoch man too.
Rothiemurchufi was a thanage, and the connection of the Mac-
kintoshes with it was always close. Alexander Keir Mackintosh
obtained the feudal rights to Rothiemurehus in 1464, and a few
years later he styles himself "Thane of Rothiemurehus." Skene
then suggests that Birso and Rothiemurehus might have anciently
been in the hands of the same toiseach or thane, and that from
him the Mackintoshes got their name. We have suggested that
the name arose with Ferchard, son of Seth or Shaw, who was
toiseach under Earl Walter Comyn in 1234, and his name appears in

164 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

the 1467 MS. genealogy as well as in the Mackintosh genealogies.
That a revolution took place in the affairs of Clan Chattan,
with the overthrow or extrusion of the direct line of chiefs, in the
half century that extends from about 1386 to 1436, is clear from
two sources — first, from the 1467 MS., and, second, from the Mac-
kintosh history. The latter acknowledges that Ferquhard, 9th
chief, was deposed from his position, which was given to his uncle
Malcolm. The reason why he had to retire was, it is said, the
clan's dissatisfaction with his way of managing affairs ; but the
matter is glossed over in the history in a most unsatisfactory
manner. If this was the Ferchard mentioned in 1382 as giving
trouble to the Bishop of Aberdeen, it is most unlikely that he was
an incapable man ; in fact, he must have been quite the opposite.
He is doubtless the same person, for he is given also in the 1467
MS. genealogy. But further confusion exists in the Mackintosh
account. Malcolm, 10th Mackintosh, who dies in 1457, is grand-
son through William 7th (died 1368) of Angus who married Eva
in 1291, the three generations thus lasting as chiefs from 1274 to
1457, some 183 years ! Malcolm was the son of William's old age,
and his brother, Lachlan 8th, was too old to take part in the
North Inch fight in 1396, sixty years before his younger brother
died ! This beats the Fraser genealogy brought forward lately by
a claimant to the Lovat estates. It is thus clear that there is
something wrong in the Mackintosh genealogy here, corresponding
doubtless to some revolution in the clan's history. And this is
made clear when we consult the Edinburgh Gaelic MS. of 1467,
which gives the genealogies of Highland clans down till about
1450. Here we actually have two genealogies given, which shows
that the chiefship of the Mackintoshes or Clan Gillicattan was then
either in dispute or a matter of division between two families.
We print the two 1467 lists with the Mackintosh MS. genealogy
between them, in parallel columns, supplying dates where possible : —

1467 MS. Mackintosh History. 1467 MS.

William and Donald (12) Ferchar (d. 1514) Lochlan

William (9) Ferchar (11) Duncan (d. 1496) Suibne

Ferchar (1382) (8) Lachlan & (10) Malcolm (d. 1457) Shaw

William (7) William (d. 1368) Leod

Gillamichol (6) Angus (d. 1345) Scayth (1338)

Ferchar (1234) (5) Ferchar (d. 1274) Ferchard

Shaw (4) Shaw (d. 1265) Gilchrist

Gilchrist William Malcolm

Aigcol (2) Shaw (d. 1210) Donald Camgilla

Ewen (1) Shaw (d. 1179) Mureach

Macduff(d. 1154) Suibne

Earl of Fife Tead (Shaw)

Neill Nachtain

[Gillicattan ?] Gillicattan

Badenoch. 165

The similarity between the 1467 first list and that of the
Mackintosh history is too striking to be accidental, and we may
take it that they purport to give the same genealogy. There are
only two discrepancies from about 1400 to 1200 between them.
1'Yrrhar 9th is given as son of Lachlan in the Mackintosh history,
wlu'»v;is the 1467 list makes him son of William, not grandson.
Tlu- 6th Mackintosh in the one list is Gillamichael, and in the
other he is called Angus. Perhaps he had borne both names, for
Gillamichael mean) " servant of St Michael," and might possibly
be an epithet. Mr Fraser-Mackintosh has drawn the
writer's attention to a list of names published in Palgrave's
"Documents and Records" of Scottish History (1837);
this is a lift of some ninety notables who, about 1297, made
homage or submission to Edward I., and among them is Anegosius
Marcarawer, or Angus Mac Ferchar, whom Mr Fraser-Mackintosh
claims as the 6th of Mackintosh. There are only two other
•• Macs" in the list, and Maccarawer is, no doubt, a Highlander,
and possibly a chief, and, perhaps, the chief of Mackintosh. In
any case, in the middle of the 15th century, the direct line of
Mackintoshes was represented by William and Donald, sons of
William, whereas the chief de facto at the time was undoubtedly
Malcolm Mackintosh. How he got this position is a question.

The second list in the 1467 MS. is a puzzle. Mr Skene called
it the genealogy of the "old" Clan Chat-tan: Why, is not clear.
Scayth, son of Fcrchard, is mentioned in 1338 as the late Scayth
who possessed a " manerium" at the " stychan" of Dalnavert. Mr
Skene thinks that he was of the Shaws of Rothienmrchus, and
that this is their genealogy ; and this may be true, but what
comes of his earlier theories in regard to the Macphersons as being
the " old " family here represented ? Theories held in 1837 were
abandoned in 1880; but in this Mr Skene could hardly help him-
self, considering the amount of information that has since appeared
in the volumes of such Societies as the " Spalding Club," bearing
on the history of the Moravian clans, and especially on that of
Clan Chat tan.

The turmoil in the Clan Chattan, which changed the chief ship
to another line, must be connected more especially with the events
which took place when King James came North, in 1427,
when part of the clan stood by the King and part by the Lord of
the Isles. We find in a document preserved in the Kilravock
papers, that King James grants a pardon to certain of the Clan
Chattan, provided they really do attach themselves to the party
of Angus and Malcolm Mackintosh ; and this shews that Malcolm,

166 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

who was afterwards chief, stood by the king, and received his
favours. Angus possibly was his brother, for a depredating rascal
of the name of Donald Angusson, supported by Lachlan "Badenoch,"
son of Malcolm, evidently Lachlaii's cousin, gives trouble to
various people towards the end of the century. In any case,
Malcolm Mackintosh emerged from the troubles that were rending
the clan victorious, and his son Duncan was as powerful a chief as
lived in the North in his day.

How much the Clan Battle at Perth, in 1396, had to do with
the changes in the Clan Chattaii leadership it is hard to say. It
is accepted as certain that the Clan Chattaii had a hand in the
fight, for the later historians say so, and the contemporary writer
Wyntown mentions the chiefs on both sides, and one of these bears
the name of Scha Ferchar's son, which is an unmistakeably Mac-
kintosh name. He says, in Laing's edition : —

" Tha thre score were clannys twa,
Clahynnhe Qwhewyl, and Clachinya ;
Of thir twa Kynnys ware the men,
Thretty agane thretty then.
And thare thai had thair chifttanys twa,
Schir Ferqwharis sone wes ane of tha,
The tothir Cristy Johnesone."

The two clans here pitted against one another are the clans
Quhele or Chewil, and Clan Ha or Hay, or, according to some,
Kay. Boece has Clan Quhete, which Buchanan and Leslie
improve into Clan Chattan.

As so much theorising has taken place upon this subject
already, and so many positive assertions have been made, it may
at present serve the interests of historic science if we can really
decide what clan names the above cannot stand for. First, there
is Clan Quhele or Chewil. This clan is mentioned in 1390 as
Clan Qwhevil, who, with the Athole tribes, made a raid into
Angus, and killed the Sheriff. They are mentioned again in an
Act of Parliament in 1594 as among the broken clans, in the
following sequence — Clandonochie, Clanchattane, Clanchewill,
Clanchamron, tfec. What clan they really were is yet a matter of
dispute. The form Chewill points *o a nominative, Cumhal or
Cubhal, or Keval, but no such name can be recognised in the
Clan Chattan district, or near it. Dughall or Dugald has been
suggested, and the family of Camerons of Strone held as the clan
referred to. But this, like so much in the discussion of this subject,
forgets some very simple rules of Gaelic phonetics, which are not

Badenoch. 167

forgotten in the spoken language, and in the English forms
borrowed from it. Feminine names ending in n never aspirate an
initial </ of the next ivord. We have Clan Donnachie, Clan Donald,
Clan Dugald, and so on, but never Clan Yonnachie or Youald, or
such. Similarly, Clan Hay or Ha cannot stand for Clan Dai or
Dtn-idsons. Let these simple rules of Gaelic phonetics be under-
stood oner for all, and \ve have made much progress towards a
solution of the difficulty. The word Qwhevil evidently commences
with a C. Skene suggests it is for Caimgilla, "one-eyed one," the
epithet of Donald, Murcach's son, in the 1467 pedigree. But the
m of cam is never aspirated, /gain, as to Ha or Hay. The H
initial may stand for th, sh, or fh ; and the only names that can
lie su-ut'sted are those of Shaw and Fhaidh. The Clan Cameron
are called, in the J467 MS. and other places, the " Claim Maelan-
t'haidh," the clan of the "servant of the Prophet," a name pre-
served in the Macgillony of Strone, which originally was
Mac Gille-an-fhaidh, equivalent to Mael-an-fhaidh in meaning.

The name, however, that best suits the English form is that
of Shaw or Seadh, that is, Seth. There is really a difficulty about
Meal-an-fhaidh and his clan. The form ought to be either
Clann-an-fhaidh, which Wyntown would give as Clahinanha or
Clahaii-ainia, or it would be Clann Mhael-an-fhaidh, a form which
could not be mistaken, were it handed down. The most popular
theory at present is that the combatants were the Camerons and
Mackintoshes, who were enemies for three centuries thereafter;
the Mackintoshes were represented by the name of Clan Chewill,
the chief being Shaw, son of Ferchar, of the Rothiemurchus
branch, while the Camerons were the Clan Hay, with Gilchrist
Mac fain as chief. This is practically Skene's view, and it is the
position taken up by Mr A. M. Shaw, the historian of the Mackin-
toshes, But the phonetics point to a struggle in which the Shaws
were the chief combatants, the other side being Clan Kevil, and,
on weighing all sides of the question, we are as much inclined to
believe that it was the beginning of that struggle in the clan,
which is represented by two lines of pedigree, and which latterly
gave the chief ship even to a junior branch of one of the lines.

How does the claim of the Cluny Macphersons for the chiefship
of Clan Chattan stand in relation to these historic facts 1 They
do not appear at all in the historical documents, but tradition in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had enough to tell of
their share in the crisis. At the battle of Invernahaven, fought
against the Camerons, the Macphersons of Cluny claimed the right
under Mackintosh as chief, but he unfortunately gave this post of

168 Gaelic Society of fnuerness.

honour to the Clan Dai or Davidsons of Invernahavon ; and
the Macphersons retired in high dudgeon. The battle was at first
lost to Clan Chattan, but the Macphersons, despite anger, came to
the rescue, and the Camerons were defeated. Then ensued a
struggle, lasting ten years, for superiority between the Macpher-
sons (Clan Chattan) and the Davidsons, the scene of which, in
1396, was shifted to the North Inch of Perth. These, the Mac-
pherson tradition says, were the two clans that fought the famous
clan fight. The Macphersons claim to be descended from Gillicattan
Mor, progenitor of the Clan Chattan, by direct male descent,
and every link is given back to the eleventh century, thus
(omitting "father of") — Gillicattan, Diarmid, Gillicattan, Muirich,
parson of Kingussie, whence they are called Claim Mhuirich,
father of Gillicattan and Ewen Ban, the former of whom had a
son, Dougal Dall, whose daughter Eva, " the heiress of Clan
Chattan," married Angus Mackintosh in 1291, and thus made him
" captain " of Clan Chattan ; Ewen Ban was the direct male
representative, then Kenneth, Duncan, Donald Mor, Donald Og,
Ewen ; then Andrew of Cluny in 1609, a real historic personage
without a doubt. In this list, not a single name previous to that of
Andrew can be proved to have existed from any documents out-
side the Macpherson genealogies, excepting only Andrew's father,
Ewen, who is mentioned in the Clanranald Red Book as grand-
father of the heroic Ewen, who joined Montrose with three hundred
of Clans Mhuiiich and Chattan. The direct Gillicattan genealogy
is given in the 1467 MS., and, such as it is, it has no semblance
to the Macpherson list. The fact is that the Macpherson list
previous to Ewan, father of Andrew, is purely traditional and
utterly unreliable. The honest historian of Moray, Lachlan Shaw,
says — " I cannot pretend to give the names of the representatives
before the last century. I know that in 1660 Andrew was laird
of Clunie, whose son, Ewan, was father of Duncan, who died in
1722 without male issue." By means of the Spalding Publications,
the Synod of Moray "Records, and other documents, we can now
supplement and add to Lachlan Shaw's information, though not
much. Macpherson of Cluny is first mentioned in 1591 when
Clan Farson gave their "band " or bond to Huntly. He is then
called " Andrew Makfersone in Cluny," not of Cluny, be it ob-
served, for he was merely tenant of Cluny at that time. This is
amply proved by the Badenoch rental of 1603, where we have the
entry — " Clovnye, three pleuches . . . Andro McFarlen
(read Farsen) tenant to the haill." Perhaps Mr Fraser-Mackin-
tosh's inference is right as to the national importance of Cluny

Badenoch.

Macpherson then, when he says — " So little known does he seem
to have been that Huntly's chamberlain, who made out the
Badenoch rental in 1603, calls him Andro McFarlon." In 1609,
Andrew had obtained a heritable right to Cluny, for then he is.
called Andrew Macpherson of Cluny in the bond of union amongst
tlu1 Clan Chattan, " in which they are and is astricted to serve
Mackintosh as their Captain and Chief." Huntly had for long
been trying to detach the Clan from Mackintosh by " bands," as
in l.")91 and in 1543, and by raising the tenants to a position of
independence under charter rights, which were liberally granted
in the seventeenth century, and which proved fatal to the unity
of Clan Chattan. . But it was a wise policy, nationally considered,
for in 1663-5, when Mackintosh tried to raise his Clan against
Lochiel, some flatly refused asking cui bono ; others promised to ga
if Mackintosh would help them to a slice of their neighbour's
land, and Macpherson of Cluny proposed three conditions on
which he would go — (1) if the Chiefs of the Macphersons hold the
next place in the Clan to Mackintosh ; (2) lands now possessed by
Mackintoshes and once possessed by Macphersons to be restored
to the latter ; and (3) the assistance now given was not of the
nature of a service which Mackintosh had a right to demand, but
simply a piece of goodwill. When Mackintosh was in 1688 pro-
ceeding to fight the "last Clan battle " at Mulray against
Keppoch, we are told that the " Macphersons in Badenoch, after
two citations, disobeyed most contemptuously." Duncan Mac-
pi HTSOU, the Cluny of that time, had decided to claim chief ship
for himself, and in 1672 he applied for and obtained from the
Lord Lyon's Office the matriculation of his arms as Laird of Cluny
Macpherson, and only true representative of the ancient and
honourable family of Clan Chattan. Mackintosh, on hearing of it,
objected, and got the Lord Lyon to give Macpherson " a coat of
arms as cadets of ' Clan Chattan.' " The Privy Council in the
same year called him " Lord of Cluny and Chief of the Macpher-
sons," but Mackintosh got them to correct even this to Cluny
being responsible only for "those of his name of Macpherson
descendit of his family," without prejudice always to the Laird of
Mackintosh. In 1724 Mackintosh and Macpherson came to an
aLTrcment that Mackintosh, in virtue of marrying the heiress of
('Ian Chattan in 1291, was Chief of Clan Chattan, Macpherson
renouncing all claim, but there was a big bribe held out to him —
he received the Loch Laggan estates from Mackintosh. In this
way the egging on of Huntly, the reputation gained by the Mac-
phersons in the Montrose wars and otherwise, and an absurd piece

170 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

of pedigree, all combined to deprive Mackintosh of his rightful
honour of Chief, and also of a good slice of his estate ! The
renown gained by the Clan Macpherson in the Jacobite wars,
compared to the supineness of the Mackintosh Chiefs, gained them
public sympathy in their claims, and brought a clan, altogether
unknown or ignored until the battle of Glenlivbt in 1594, to the
very front rank of Highland Clans in the eighteenth century.
We see the rise of a clan and its chiefs actually take place in
less than a century and a half, and that, too, by the pluck and
bravery displayed by its chiefs and its members.

PLACE NAMES OF BADENOCH.

The Ordnance Survey maps, made to the scale of six inches to
the mile, contain for Badenoch some fourteen hundred names ; but
these do not form more than a tithe of the names actually in use
or once used when the glens were filled • with people, and the
summer shealings received their annual visitants. Every knoll
and rill had its name ; the bit of moor, the bog or bldr, the clump
of wood (badan), the rock or crag, the tiny loch or river pool, not
to speak of cultivated land parcelled into fields, each and all, how-
ever insignificant, had a name among those that dwelt near them.
Nor were the minute features of the mountain ranges and far-
away valleys much less known and named. The shealing system
contributed much to this last fact. But now many of these names
are lost, we may say most of them are lost, with the loss of the
population, and with the abandonment of the old system of
crofting and of summer migration to the hills. The names given
to those minutes features of the landscape were and are com-
paratively easy on the score of derivation, though sometimes
difficult to explain historically. For instance, Lub Mhairi, or
Mary's Loop, is the name of a small meadow at Coilintuie, but
who was the Mary from whom it got its name ?

Of the fourteen hundred words on the Ordnance Maps, we may
at once dismiss three fourths as self-explanatory. Anyone with a
knowledge of Gaelic can explain them ; or anyone not so endowed
but possessed of a Gaelic dictionary can by the use of it satis-
factorily unravel the mystery of the names. Of the remaining
fourth, most are easy enough as regards derivation, but some
explanation of an historical character is desirable, though often
impossible of being got. Ono of the most interesting names under
this last category is that of Craig Righ Harailt, or the Crag of
King Harold, which stands among the hills behind Dunachton ;

Badenoch. 173

jet there is absolutely nothing known about this Scandinavian
chief ; even tradition halts in the matter. There are only some
six score names where any difficulty, however slight, of derivation
can occur, and it is to these names that this paper will mostly
devote itself. The oldest written or printed form of the name
will be given, for often the difficulty of deriving a place-name
yields when the oldest forms of it are found. We have fortunately
some valuable documents, easily attainable, which throw light on
some obscure names. Among these are the Huntly Rental for the
Lordship of Badenoch for 1603,1 and Sir R. Gordon of Straloch's
map of Braidalbane and Moray, which was published in Blaeu's
Atlas in 1662, and which contains a full and intelligent represen-
tation of Badenoch. The Badenoch part of this map is reproduced
along with this paper for the sake of illustrating it. It was made
about the year 1640.

First, we shall deal with the name of the district and the
names of the principal divisions of it, and thereafter consider the
nomenclature of the leading features of the countrj7, whether
river, loch, or mountain, following this with a glance at the names
of farms and townships, and at the other points of the landscape
that may seem to require explanation. The name of the district
first claims our attention.

Badenoch. — In 1229 or thereabouts the name appears as
Badenach in the Registrum of Moray Diocese, and this is its usual
form there; in 1289, Badenagh, Badenoughe, and, in King
Edward's Journal, Badnasshe ; in 1366 we have Baydenach, which
is the first indication of the length of the vowel in Bad-; a 14th
century map gives Baunagd ; in 1467, Badyenach ; in 1539,
Baidyenoch ; in 1603 (Huntly Rental), Badzenoche ; and now in
Gaelic it is Baideanach. The favourite derivation, first given by
Lachlan Shaw, the historian of Moray (1775), refers it to badan,
a bush or thicket ; and the Muses have sanctioned it in Calum
Dubh's expressive line in his poem on the Loss of Gaick (1800) —

" 'S bidh muirn aim an Duthaich nam Badan."
(And joy shall be in the Land of Wood-clumps).

But there are two fatal objections to this derivation ; the a of
Badenoch is long, and that of badan is short ; the d of Badenoch
is vowel-flanked by " small" vowels, while that of badan is flanked
by " broad" vowels and is hard, the one being pronounced approxi-
mately for English as bah-janach, and the other as baddanach. The
root that suggests itself as contained in the word is that of bath
or badh (drown, submerge), which, with an adjectival termination

1 Spalding Club Miscellany, vol. iv.

174 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

in de, would give bdide, "submerged, marshy," and this might
pass into bdidean and baideanach, " marsh or lake land." That
this meaning suits the long, central meadow land of Badenoch,
which once could have been nothing else than a long morass, is
evident. There are several places in Ireland containing the root
bdd/i (drown), as Joyce points out. For instance, Bauttagh, west
of Loughrea in Galway, a marshy place ; Mullanbattog, near
Monaghan, hill summit of the morass ; the river Bauteoge, in
Queen's County, flowing through swampy ground ; and Curra-
watia, in Galway, means the inundated curragh or morass. The
neighbouring district of Lochaber is called by Adamnan Stagnum
Aporicum, and the latter term is likely the Irish abar (a marsh),
rather than the Pictish aber (a confluence) ; so that both districts
may be looked upon as named from their marshes. The divisions
of Badenoch are three — the parishes of Alvie, Kingussie and Insh,
and Laggan.

Alvie. — Shaw says it is a "parsonage dedicated to St Drostan."
Otherwise we should have at once suggested the 6th century Irish
saint and bishop called Ailbe or later Ailbhe, whose name suits so
admirably, that, even despite the Drostan connection, one would
feel inclined to think that the parish is named after St Ailbhe.
In the middle of the 14th century the parish is called Alveth or
Alwetht and Alway, and Alvecht about 1400, in 1603 Alvey and
Aluay, and in 1622 Alloway. The name, with the old spelling
Alveth, appears in the parish of Alvah in Banffshire, and no doubt
also in that of Alva, another parish in Stirlingshire. Shaw and
others connect the name with ail (a rock), but do not explain the
v or bh in the name. Some look at Loch Alvie as giving the name
to the parish, and explain its name as connected with the flower
ealbhaidh or St John's wort, a plant which it is asserted grows or
grew around its bank. The learned minister of Alvie in Dis-
ruption times, Mr Macdonald, referred the name of the loch to
Eala-i or Swan-isle Loch, but unfortunately there is no Gaelic
word i for an island, nor do the phonetics suit in regard to the bh
or v. The old Fenian name of Almhu or Almhuinn. now Allen, in
Ireland, the seat of Fionn and his Feiiin, suggests itself, but the
termination in n is wanting in Alvie, and this makes the com-
parison of doubtful value.

Insh. — Mentioned as Inche in the Moray Registrum in 1226
and similarly in 1380 and in 1603. The name is derived from
the knoll on which the church is built, and which is an island or
innis when the river is in flood. Loch Insh takes its name from
this or the other real island near it. The parish is a vicarage
dedicated to " St Ewan," says Shaw ; but, as the name of the

Badenoch. 175

kn«.!! mi which the church stands is Tom Eunan, the Saint must
ha\v l.een E6nan or Adanman, Columba's biographer, in the 7th
century. The old bell is a curious and rare relic, and the legend
attached to it is one of the prettiest told m the district. The bell
stolen once upon a time, and taken to the south of the
(Iraiupians, but getting free, it returned of its own accord ringing
out as it crossed the hills of Dnimochter, "Torn Eonan ! Tom

Eonan."

Kingussie. — In Gaelic — Cinn-ghiubhsaich — " (at) the end of the
tir -forest ;" cinn being the locative of ceann (head) and giubhsach
U-inir a " Hr-forest." The oldest forms of the name are Kynguscy
( 1 103-11 ?), Kingussy (1208-15), Kingusy (1226), Kingucy (1380),
Kiogusy (1538), and Kyngusie (1603). It is a parsonage dedi-
cate" 1 to St Columba (Shaw). According to Shaw, there was a
Priory at Kingussie, founded by the Earl of Huntly about 1490.

Laggan.--" A mensal church dedicated to St Kenneth" (Shaw).
The name in full is Laggan-Choiimich, the lacjgan or " hollow of
Kenneth.'' The present church is at Laggan Bridge, but the old
church was at the nearest end of Loch Laggan, where the ruins
are still to be seen. It is mentioned in 1239 as Logynkenny
(K.M.), and Logykenny shortly before, as Logachnacheny and
Logykeny in 1380, Logankenny in 1381 (all from R.M.), and
Lagane in 1603 (H.R.) The Gaelic word " lagan" is the diminutive
of " lag," a hollow.

We now come to the leading natural features of the country,
and deal first with the rivers and lochs of Badenoch. A loch and
its river generally have the same name, and, as a rule, it is the
river that gives name to the loch. A prominent characteristic of
the river names of Badenoch, and also of Pictland, is the
termination ie or y. We meet in Badenoch with Feshie, Trommie,
Markie, and Mashie, and not far away are Bennie, Druie, Geldie,
(Jarry, Bogie, Gaudie, Lossie, Urie, and several more. The
termination would appear to be that given by Ptolemy in several
river names such as Nov-ios, Tob-ios, LibiWos, &c., which is the
adjectival termination ios ; but it has to be remarked that the
moilcni pronounciation points to a termination in idh, Zeuss's
primitive <u./i or i<li; Tromie in Gaelic is to be spelt Tromaidh,
and Keshie as Keisidh. \Ve first deal with the so-called " rapidest
river in Scotland."

The Spey. — The Highlanders of old had a great idea of the
size of the Spey, and also of the Dee and Tay. There is a Gaelic
saying which runs thus : —

Sp<*, Do, agus Tatha,

Tri uisgeachan 's mo fo'n athar.

176 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

This appears in an equally terse English form : —

The three largest rivers that be
Are the Tay, the Spey, and the Dee.

In Norse literature the name appears as Spse (13th century); we
have the form Spe in the "Chronicles" (1165); Spe (1228, &c) ;
Spec (Bruce's Charter to Randolph) and Spey (1451 and 1603).
But the Spey is regarded as representing physically and etymolo-
gically Ptolemy's river Tvesis or Tvsesis. Dr Whitley Stokes
says : — " Supposed to be Ptolemy's Tvesis ; but it points to an
original Celtic squeas, cognate with Ir. sceim (vomo), W. chwyd (a
vomit). For the connection of ideas, cf. Pliny's Vomanus, a river
of Picenum. The river name Spean may be a diminutive of Spe."
The changing of an original sqv to sp, instead of the true Gaelic
form sg or sc indicates that the name is Pictlsh. The Spean is
doubtless a diminutive arising from a form spesona or spesana.

The Dulnan ; in Gaelic Tuilnean, Blaeu's map Tulnen. It
falls into Spey near Broomhill Station. The root is tuil, flood ;
the idea being to denote its aptness to rapid floods.

Feshie ; Gaelic Feisidh. Its first appearance in charters is
about 1230, and the name is printed Ceffy, evidently for Fessy. If it
is Celtic, its earliest form was Vestia, from a root ved, which signi-
fies "wet," and which is the origin of the English word wet and
water. That Feshie is Celtic and Pictish may be regarded as pro-
bable when it is mentioned that in Breconshire there is a river
Gwesyn, the root of the name being gwes (for vest), meaning
"what moves" or "goes."

Tromie; Gaelic Trom(a)idh. In 1603 it is called Tromye.
The Gaelic name for dwarf elder is troman, which appears in Irish
as trom or tromm, with genitive truimm. It gives its name to
Trim in Meath, which in the 9th century was called Vadum
Truimm, or Ford of the Elder-tree. Several other Irish place-names
come from it. In Badenoch and elsewhere in the Highlands, we
often meet with rivers named after the woods on their banks.
Notably is so the case with the alder tree, Fearna, which names
numerous streams, and, indeed, is found in old Gaul, for Pliny
mentions a river called Vernodubrum. Hence Tromie is the
Elder-y River ; while Truim, which is probably named after the
glen, Glen-truim — " Glen of the Elder," — takes its name from the
genitive of tromm. Compare the Irish Cala-truim, the hollow of
the elder. Glen-tromie is the first part of the long gorge that
latterly becomes Gaick, and, in curious contrast to the ill fame of
the latter in poetry, it appears thus in a well-known verse : —

Badenoch. 177

Gleann TromaMh nan siantan

Learn bu mhiann bhi 'nad fliasgath,
Far am faighinn a' bhroighleag,

An oighreag 's an dearcag,
Cnothan donn air a' challtuinn,

'S iasc; dearg air na h-easan.

Guinag, Guynack, Guinach, or Gynach (pronounced in Gaelic
Goi(bh)neag), falls into the Spey at Kingussie. It is a
sli.>rt, stormy streamlet. All sorts of derivations have been
offered ; the favourite is guanag, pretty, but, unfortunately, it does
nut Miit the phonetics of Goi-neag. The name points to primitive
forms like gobni- or gomni-, where the o may have been a, and the
latter form, read as gamni-, would give us the root gam, which in
old Gaelic means " winter." Hence the idea may be " wintry
streamlet." But the Irish word gaoth, a shallow tidal stream,
t'ordahle ;it low water, should be remembered; this gives name to
several place's in Ireland, such as the famous Gweedore, and there
is a river Gaothach in Tipperary. Old Irish has a word goithlach,
si unifying swamp, which seems allied, and we might consider
Guinag as an older Goith-neoc, referring to the latter part of its
course in entering the Spey, which is " tidal" and " swampy."

The Colder : in Gaelic Calfljadar. This river and lake name
recurs about a dozen times in Pictland and the old Valentia pro-
vince between the Walls, and there is a Calder river in Lancashire.
( 'awdor and its Thanes probably give us the earliest form of
the word, applied to the Nairnshire district. This is in 1295
Kaledor; in 1310, Caldor ; and in 1468, Caudor. But the Gaelic'
forms persist in other places, as in Aber-Callador (1456) in Strath-
nairn. These forms point to an older Cal-ent-or, for ent and ant
become in Gaelic ed or ad, earlier et or at. In the Irish Annals
mention is made of a battle, fought, it is supposed, in the Carse
of Falkirk, called the battle of Calitros, and certain lands near
Falkirk were called in the 13th century Kalentyr, now Callendar.
N<>t far away are several Calder waters. The root is evidently
cat (sound, call), as in Latin Calendae, and English Calendar,
borrowed, like the Gaelic equivalent word Caladair, from the
La t i n Ca lendarium.

The Truim. See under the heading of Tromie.

The JA/X///V; Masie (1603), in Gaelic Mathaisidh, pronounced
Mathitidh. Strathmashie is famous as the residence of Lachlaii
Macpherson, the bard, the contemporary and coadjutor of James
Macpherson of Ossianic renown. The bard's opinions of the river

12

178 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Mashie are still handed down ; these differed accorded to circum-
stances. Thus he praised the river : —

Mathaisidh gheal, bhoidheach gheal,

Mathaisidh gheal, bhoidheach gheal,

Bu chaomh learn bhi laimh riut.

But after it earned away his corn he said : —

Mathaisidh dhubh, fhrogach dhubh,
Mathaisidh dhubh, fhrogach dhubh,
Is mor rinn thu chall orm.

The derivation of the name is obscure. Mathaisidh could come
from mathas, goodness, but the meaning is not satisfactory. We
might think of maise, beauty, but it has 'the vowel short in
modern Gaelic, though Welsh maws, pleasant, points to a long
vowel or a possible contraction in the original.

The Markie ; Gaelic Marcaidh. Streams and glens bearing the
name Mark and Markie occur in Perthshire, Forfarshire, and Banff-
shire. The first tributary of the Feshie is Allt Mharkie, at the
mouth of which was of old Invermarkie, an estate held by the
Campbells of Cawdor in the 15th and 16th centuries. The root
is doubtless marc, a horse.

The Pattack ; in Gaelic Patag. This river, unlike- those
which we have hitherto dealt with, does not flow into the Spey,
but into Loch Laggan, after making an extraordinary volte face
about two miles from its mouth. First it flows directly north-
wards, and then suddenly south-westwards for the last two miles
of its course. Hence the local saying —

Patag dhubh, bhulgach
Dol an aghatdh uisge Alba
(Dark, bubbly Pattack, that goes against the streams of Alba).

We find Pattack first mentioned in an agreement between the
Bishop of Moray and Walter Comyn about the year 1230, where
the streams " Kyllene et Petenachy" are mentioned as bounding
the church lands of Logykenny. The Kyllene is still remembered
in Camus-Killean, the bay of Killean, where the inn is. The
Kyllene must have been the present Allt Lairig, or as the map has
it, Allt Buidhe ; while Petenachy represents Pattack, which in
Blaeu's map appears as Potaig. The initial p proves the name to
be of non-Gaelic origin ultimately, but whether it is Pictish, pre-
Celtic, or a Gaelicised foreign word we cannot say.

Alt Lowrag lies between Loch an na h-Earba and Loch Laggan.
It means the " loud-sounding (labhar) one."

Badenoch. 179

The Spean ; in Gaelic SpitJiean. See under Spey.

We have now exhausted the leading rivers, but before going
further we may consider the names of one or two tributaries of
these. Feshie, for instance, has three important tributaries, one of
which, Allt Mharkie, we have already discussed. Passing over
Allt Ruaidh as being an oblique form of Allt Ruadh, " red burn,"
we come to the curious river name

F>rnsdale ; in Gaelic Feamasdail. The farms of Corarnstil-
more and Corarnstil-beg, that is, the 'Corrie of Fernsdale, are
mentioned in 1603 as Oorearnistaill Moir and Corearinstail Beige,
and in 1691 the name is Corriarnisdaill. Blaeu's map gives the
river as Fairnstil. The first portion of the name is easy ; it is
Fearna, alder. But what of sdail or asdail ? The word astail
means a dwelling, but "Fern-dwelling" is satisfactory as a name
wither for river or glen. The tributary of the Fernsdale is called

Comkraig ; in Blaeu Conrik. Cornhrag signifies a conflict ;
but in Irish and early Gaelic it signified simply a meeting whether
of r >ad and rivers, or of men for conflict. There are several Irish
place names Corick, situated near confluences. Doubtless this
stream took its name from its confluence with Fernsdale.

On Feshie we meet further up with Allt Fhearnagan, the
.stream of the alder trees ; then Allt Ghabhlach, which the
Ordnance map etymologises into Allt Garbhlach, the stream of the
ru.irux'd place. This may be the true deviation ; it is a big rough
<_Millv or corrie with a mountain torrent tumbling through it.

Allt Lnnjui'Ui is named after the mountain pass or tract which
it drains (/o/y/, lorc/<i<lh, track, tracing), and which also gives name
to the prominent peak of Cam an Fhidhleir Lorgaidh, the Fiddler's
( 'aim of Lorgie, to differentiate it from the Fiddler's Cairn which is
just beyond the Inverness-shire border, and not far from the other
one.

The Ei'ittn-t, Blaeu's Eitart, with the neighbouring streamlet of
Kindarr, is a pu/xling name. The Gaelic is Eidird and Inndird
.•Kvordiii'j; to pronounciation.

\Ye now come to the lochs of Badenoch. Loch Alvie is bound
up with the name of Alvie Parish, discussed already. Loch Insh
is the Lake of the Island, just as Loch-an-cilein, in Rothiemurchus,
takes its mime from the castle-island which it contains ; but eilean
is the Norse word eyland, Kng. island, borrowed, whereas innis of
Loch Insh is pure Gaelic. In Gaick, along the course of the
Tromie, there are three lakes, about which the following rhyme is
repeated : —

180 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Tha gaoth mh6r air Loch-an-t-Seilich,

Tha gaoth eil' air Loch-an-Duin ;
Ruigidh mise Loch-a' Bhrodainn,

Mu'n teid cadal air mo shuil.

The rhyme is supposed to have been the song of a hunter who
escaped from demons by stratagem and the help of a good stallion
on whose back he leapt. The first loch is called Loch-an-t-Seilich,
the lake of the willow, and the third of the series is Loch-an-Duin,
the loch of the Down or hill, the name of the steep crag on its
west side. The intermediate lake is called Loch Vrodain, Gaelic
Bhrodainn, which Sir R. Gordon in Blaeu's map spells as Vrodin,
The Ordnance map etymologises the word as usual, and the result
is Loch Bhradainn, Salmon Loch ; but unfortunately the a of
bradan was never o, so that phonetically we must discard this
derivation. There is a story told about this weird loch which fully
explains the name mythically. A hunter had got into possession
of a semi-supernatural litter of dogs. When they reached a
certain age, all of them were taken away by one who claimed to
be the true owner, who left with the hunter only a single pup, jet
black in colour, and named Brodainn. Before leaving it with
the hunter, the demon broke its leg. Brodainn was therefore
lame. There was a wonderful white fairy deer on Ben Alder, and
the hunter decided he should make himself famous by the chase
of it. So he and Brodainn went to Ben Alder, on Loch Ericht
side ; the deer was roused, Brodainn pursued it, and was gaining-
ground on it when they were passing this loch in Gaick. In
plunged the deer, and after it Brodainn dashed ; he caught it in
rnid-lake, and they both disappeared never more to be seen !
Hence the name of the lake is Loch Vrodin ; the lake is there, the
name is there, therefore the story is true ! The word brodan
means a small goad or prod, but how it can have given its name,
if at all, to the lake is a mystery : " lake of the prod " suits the
phonetics admirably. Loch-Laggan takes its name from the lagan
or hollow which gave the parish its name, that is, from Laggan-
Chainnich or Lagan-Kenny, at the northern end of the loch. There
are two isles in the lake connected with the old kingly race of
Scotland. King Fergus, whoever he was, had his hunting lodge
on one, called Eilean an High, and the other was the dog-kennel
of these Fenian hunters, and is called Eilean nan Con. The con-
siderable lake or lakes running parallel to, and a mile to the south-
east of Loch Laggan are called Lochan na h-Earba — the lakes of
the roe. Loch Crunachan, at the mouth of Glen-Shirra, has an

Badenoch. 181

artificial island or crannoy therein ; the word is rather Ourmachan
than Cninaehan by pronounciation. A Gordon estate map of
1773 calls it the " Loch of Sheiromore," and distinctly marks the
crannog. Taylor and Skinner's Roads maps, published in
17 76 by order of Parliament, giv^ the name as L. Crenackan.
The derivation, unless referable to crannog, is doubtful.
Loch Ericht, the largest lake in Badenoch, is known in Gaelic as
Loch Eireachd. Blaeu calls it Eyrachlo (read Eyrachte). The
lake is doubtless named from the river P>icht, runing from it into
Loch Raunoch. Another river Ericht flows past Blairgowrie into
the Isla, nor must we omit the Erichdie Water and Glen Erichdie
in Blair Athole. The word eireachd signifies an assembly or meet-
ing, but there is an abstract noun, eireachdas, signifying "hand-
someness," and it is to this last form that we should be inclined
to refer the word.

Let us now turn to the hills and hollows, and dales of Badenoch.
Many «.f these place names are called after animals frequenting
them. The name of the eagle for instance is exceedingly common
in the form of iolair, as Sron an lolair, eagle's ness, tfcc. We shall
begin at the north-east end of the district, and take the Monadh-lia
or Grey Mountain range first. "Standing fast" as guard between
Strathspey and Badenoch is the huge mass of

Craigellachie, which gives its motto to the Clan of Grant —
"Stand fast: Craigellachie !" The name reads in Gaelic as
Eileachuidh, which appears to be an adjective formed from the
stem eiletfi, or older ailech, a rock, nominative ail. The idea is
the stony or craggy hill — a thoroughly descriptive adjective.

The Moireach ; Gaelic, A* Mhorfhoich, is an upland moor of
undulating ground above Ballinluig. On the West Coast, this
t'-nu signifies flat land liable to sea flooding. It is also the real
Gaelic name of Lovat.

Cam Dubh ' Ic-an-Dedir is on the Strathdearn border, and is
wrongly named on the map as " Cam Dubh aig an Doire." It
means — The Black Cairn of the Dewar's (Pilgrim) Son.

An Sguabach. — There is another Sguabach south of Loch
Cuaich, a few miles from Dalwhinnie, and a Meall an
Sguabaich west of Loch Ericht. It means the "sweeping"
one, from sguab, a besom. The people of Insh — the village and
its vicinity — used to speak of the north wind as Gaoth na Sguab-
aich, for it blew over that hill.

Cnni' Frnlnfj, not Cnoc an Fhrangaich as on the Ordnance map
— a conspicuous dome-shaped hill above Dulnan river. There is a
€noc Frangach a few miles south of Inverness, near Scaniport.

182 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Fraoch frangach means the cross-leaved heather, of which people
made their scouring brushes. The brush was called in some parts
fraings' in Gaelic

Easga 'n Lochain, with its caochan or streamlet, contains the
interesting old word for " swamp" known as easy, ea#ga, or easgaidh,
with which we may compare the river name Esk.

A1 Bhuidheanaich, in the Ordnance maps etymologised into
Am Euidh 'aonach, " the yellow hill or steep," occurs three times
in Badenoch — here behind Kincraig and Dunachton, on the north
side of Loch Laggan, and on the confines of Badenoch a few miles
south of Dalwhinnie. The idea of "yellowness" underlies the
word as it is characteristic of the places meant. The root is buidhe
(yellow) ; the rest is mere termination and has nothing to do with
aonach, which, in Macpherson's " Ossian," is applied to a hill or
slope.

Coire Bog, &c. — Here we may introduce a mnemonic rhyme
detailing some features of the ground behind and beside Buidh-
eanaich.

Allt Duinne 'Choire Bhuig,
Tuilnean agus Feithlinn,
Coire Bog is Ruigh na h-Eag,
Steallag is Bad-Earbag.

" The Burn of Dun-ness in Soft Corry, Dulnan and Broad Bog-
stream, the Reach of the Notch, the Spoutie and Hinds' Clump "
— that is the translation of the names.

An Suidhe means the '" Seat ;" it designates the solid, massive
hill behind Kincraig.

Craig. Righ HaraiH means King Harold's Hill, on the side of
which his grave is still pointed out. As already said, it is unknown
who he was or when he lived.

Coire Neachdradh : Glac an t-Sneachdaidh, &c. This corrie
is at the end of Dunachton burn after its final bend among
the hills. Sneachdradh means snows, or much snow — being an
abstract noun formed from sneachd.

Ruigh an Roig : the Reach of the Roig (?} is eastward of Craig
Mhor by the side of the peat road. The map places it further
along as Ruigh na Ruaige — the Stretch of the Retreat.

Bad Each is above Glen Guinack : it is mis-read on the
Ordnance map into Pait-an-Eich — a meaningless expression. It
means Horses' Clump, and a famous local song begins —

Mollachd gn brath aig braigh Bad Each ;

curses ever more on upper Bad-each, where the horses stuck and
they could not extricate them.

Badenoch. 183

Rhymes about the various place names are common, and here
is an enumeration of the heights in the Monadh Liath between
Kingussie and Craig Dhubh : —

Creag-bheag Chinn-a'-ghinbhsaich,
Creag-mh6ir Bhail'-a'-chrothain,
Beinne-Bhuidhe na Sr6ine,
Creag-an-loin. aig na croitean,
Sithean-mor Dhail-a'-Chaoruinn,
Creag-an-abhaig a' Bhail'-shios,
Creag-liath a' Bhail'-shuas,
'S Creag-Dhubh Bhiallaid,
Cadha-'n-fheidh Lochain-ubhaidh,
Cadh' is mollaicht' tha ann,
Cha'n fhas fiar no fodar ann,
Ach sochagan is dearcagan-allt,
Gabhar air aodainn,
Is laosboc air a cheann.

Glen Balloch ; in Gaelic Gleann Baloch. This name is
etymologised on the Ordnance map into Gleann a' Bhealaich — the
Glen of the Pass ; but the word is baloch or balloch, which means
either speckled or high-walled. To the left the Allt Mhadagain
discharges into the Calder : this name is explained on the map as
Mada coin, which may be right, but it certainly is not the pro-
nounciation, which our Madagain reproduces. There are two
corries in Gaick similarly named (Cory Mattakan, 1773).

Sneachdach Slinnean, or Snow Shoulder, is away on the Moy
border.

Meall na h-Uinneig, behind Gask-beg considerably, means the
Mass or Hill of the Window. There are other places so named —
UinneagCoire-an-Eich (Glen-balloch), Uinneag Coir Ardar, Uinneag
Coir an Lochain, Uinneag na Creig Moire, Uinneag Coire
Chaoruinn and Uinneag Mhin Choire, the latter ones being all near
one another on the north side of Loch Laggan. The meaning of
the name is an opening or pass, or a notch in the sky-line.

larlraig is the rising ground above Garva Bridge, and is
mis-written for lolairig, place of the eagles. There is here a
rock where the eagle nests or nested. Compare Auld Cory
na Helrick of 1773 with the Allt Coire na h-Iolair of the Ordnance
map, both referring to a stream on Loch Ericht side. There is an
Elrick opposite Killyhuntly. The name is common in North
Scotland.

184 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Coire Yairack ; Allt Yairack ; in Gaelic JEarrag, as if a feminine
of Errach (spring). It is spelt Yarig on the 1773 estate map.
Perhaps it is a corruption of Gearrag, the short one, applied to a
stream.

Shfsgnan is the name of a considerable extent of ground near
1he source of the Spey, and it means morass land, being from
teasqann, fenny country, a word which gives several place names
both in Scotland and Ireland. The most notable in Scotland is
Shisken in Arran, a large, low-lying district, flat and now fertile.

We now cross Spey, and work our way down the south side.

Dearc Beinne Bige, the Dearc of the Little Hill. The pro-
nounciation is dire ; in the 1 773 map it is spelt Dirichk. It is an
oblique case of dearc, a hole, cave, cleft ; it is found in parly Irish
as derc (a cave), and several places in Ireland are called Derk
and Dirk therefrom. It occurs at least three times in Laggan —
as above ; and in Dire Craig Chathalain, the 1773 Dirichk Craig
Caulan, or cleft of the Noisy Rock, from Callan, noise ; and in
Dearc-an-Fhearna.

Coire 'Bhein, the 1773 Cory Vein, is a puzzling name. It looks
like the genitive case of bian, skin.

Coire Phitridh, at the south corner of Lochan na h-Earba, is
given in the map as Corie na Peathraich. The word is probably
an abstract noun from pit, hollow.

Beinn Eibhinn, the 1773 Bineven, the "pleasant hill," is a
prominent peak of 3611 feet high, on the borders of Badenoch and
Lochaber, from which a good view of Skye can be got.

Ben Alder, Blaeu's Bin Aildir, in modern Gaelic Beinn Eallar
(Yallar). The word is obscure.

Beinn Udlaman, the Uduman of the 1773 map, on the
confines of Badenoch and Perthshire, east of Loch Ericht, seems
to take its name from the ball and socket action, for udalan
signifies a swivel or joint. Some suggest udlaidh, gloomy, retired.

The Boar, An Tore, of Badenoch is to the left of the railway
as one enters the district from the south. The " Sow of Athole"
is quite close to the " Boar of Badenoch." We are now at the
ridge of

Drumochter, in Gaelic, Drum-uachdar, or ridge of the upper
ground.

Coire Bhoite, or rather Bhoitidh, the Vottie of 1773, is two or
three miles away, and finds a parallel in the name Sron Bhoitidh
at the top of Glenfishie, where the river bends on itself. The
word boitidh means " pig," or rather the call made to a pig when
its attention is desired.

Badenoch. 185

Coire tiiillKi<i<i'-lt, behind Craig Kuadh and Drumgask, means
the Corrie full of Eyes, so named from its springs doubtless. The
term suit each (full of eyes) is usually applied to streams and corries
with whirlpools therein.

Creag Chrocan, not nan Crbcean as on the map, is near the
-above corrie, and is named from the deer's antlers which croc
means. Similary \ve often meet with cabar (an antler or caber)
in place names.

The hill of Bad na Deimheis, the Had na Feish of 1773, over-
looks Dalwhinnie to the east. The name means the " Clump of
the Shears," a curious designation. We now pass over into the
forest and district of

Gaickj in. Gaelic Ghig, which is the dative or locative of g&g, a
cleft or pass. It is considered the wildest portion of Badenoch,
and the repute of the district is far from good. Supernaturally,
it has an uncanny reputation. From the days of the ill-starred
and ill-disposed Lord Walter Comyn, who, in crossing at Leum na
Feinne — the Fenian Men's Leap — to carry out his dread project
of making the Ruthven women go to the harvest fields to work
unclothed and naked, was torn to pieces by eagles,* to that last
Christmas of last century, when Captain John Macpherson of
Ballachroau and four others were choked to death by an avalanche
of snow as they slept in that far-away bothie, Gaick has an
unbroken record of dread supernatural doings. Duncan Gow, in
his poem on the Loss of Gaick in 1799, says : —
(iaig dhubh nam feadan fiar,
Nach robh ach na striopaich riamh,
Na bana-bhuidsich 'gan toirt 'san lion,
Gach fear leis 'm bu mhiannach laighe leath'.

Which means that Gaick, the dark, of wind-whistling crooked
glens, has ever been a strumpet and a witch, enticing to their
destruction those that loved her charms. How near this con-
ception is to that mythological one of the beauteous maiden that
entices the wayfarer into her castle, and turns into a savage
uragon that devours him ! The following verses showing the
respective merits of various places have no love for Gaick :

Bha mi 'm Bran, an Cuilc 's an Gaig,

\ Kidird agus Leum-na-Larach,
Am Feisidh mhoir bho 'bun gu 'braighe
'S b'annsa learn 'bhi 'n Allt-a'-Bhathaich.

* Hence the expression— Diol Bhaltair an Gaig ort— Walter's fate iu Gaick
on you — to signify an ill wish or curse on any one.

186 Gaelic Society of Inuerness.

'S m6r a b'fhearr learn 'bhi 'n Drum-Uachdar
Na 'bhi 'n Gaig nan creagan gruamach,

Far am faicinn ann na h-uailsean

'S iiibhaidh dhearg air bharr an gualain.

The poet prefers Drumochter to Glen-Feshie and Gaick of the
grim crags. The Loss of Gaick is a local epoch from which to
date : an old person always said that he or she was so many years
old at Call Ghaig. So in other parts, the Olympiads or Archons
or Temple-burnings which made the landmarks of chronology were
such as the " Year of the White Peas," " the Hot Summer " (1826?),
the year of the " Great Snow," and so forth.

A' Ckaoirnich, the Caorunnach of the Ordnance map, but the
Chournich of 1773, stands beside Loch-an-Duin to the left. The
latter form means the "cairny" or "rocky" hill; the other, the
"rowan-ny" hill, which is the meaning doubtless. The steep
ascent of it from the hither end of the lake is called on the map
Bruthach nan Spaidan, a meaningless expression for Bruthach nan
Spardan, the Hen-roost Brae.

Meall Aillig, in the Gargaig Cory (1773), or Garbh-Ghaig
(Rough Gaick as opposed to " Smooth " Gaick or Minigaig as in
Blaeu's map), appears to contain aill (a cliff) as its root form.
Some refer it to aileag, the hiccup, which the stiffness of the
climb might cause.

Coire Bhran, the Coryvren of Bleau, takes its name from the
river Bran, a tributary of the Tromie, and this last word is a
well-known river name, applied to turbulent streams, and signifies
"raven."

Caockan a Cifiaplich, a streamlet which falls into Tromie a
little below the confluence of the Bran, contains the word
caplach, which seems to be a derivative of capull (a horse). There
is a Caiplich in the Aird — a large plateau, the Monadh Caiplich in
Loch Alsh, and a stream of the name in Abernethy.

Croyla is the proment mountain on the left as one enters
Glentromie — a massive, striking hill. It is sung of in the Ossianic
poetry of John Clark, James Macpherson's fellow Badenoch man,
contemporary, friend, and sincere imitator in poetry and literary
honesty. Clark's (prose) poem is entitled the "Cave of Creyla,'
and in his notes he gives some topographical derivations. Tromie
appears poetically as Trombia, and is explained as Trom-bidh,
heavy water, while Badenoch itself is etymologised as Bha-dianach, .
secure valley. The Ordnance map renders Croyla as Cruaidhleac,
a form which etymologises the word out of all ken of the local:

Badenoch. 187

pronounciation. Blaeu's map has Cromlaid, which is evidently
meant for Croyla. The Gaelic pronounciation is Croidh-la, the la
being pronounced as in English. It is possibly a form of
cruadhlach or cruaidhlach (rocky declivity), a locative from which
might have been cruaidhlaigh.

Meall-an-Dulh-catha is at the sources of the Comhraig river.
It should be spelt Dubh-chadha, the black pass, the word cadha
being common for pass.

Ciste Mhairearaid or rather Ciste Mhearad, Margaret's kist
or chest or coffin, is part of Coire Fhearnagan, above the farm of
Achlean. Here snow may remain all the year round. It is said that
Margaret, who was jilted by Mackintosh of Moy Hall, and who
cursed his family to sterility, died here in her mad wanderings.

Meall Dubhag and not Meall Dubh-achaidh (Ordnance map) is
the name of the hill to the south of Ciste Mairead, while equally
Creag Leatkain(n), broad craig, is the name of the hill in front of
Ciste Mairead, not Creag na Leacainn. Further north is

Creaq Ghinbhsachan, the craig of the fir forest.

Creag Mhigeachaidh stands prominently behind Feshie Bridge
and Laggan-lia. There is a Dal-mhigeachaidh or Dalmigavie in
Strathdearn, a Migvie (Gaelic, Migibhidh) in Stratherrick, and the
parish of Migvie and Tarland in Aberdeenshire. The root part is
mig or meig, which means in modern Gaelic the bleating of a goat.

Creag Follais, not Creag Ptmlach (sic) as on the maps, means
the conspicuous crag. Similarly wrong is

Creag Fhiaclach, not Creag Pheacach (!), on the borders of
Rothiemurchus, which means the serrated or toothed crag, a most
accurately descriptive epithet.

Clack Mhic Cailein, on the top of Creag Follais. The Mac-
Cailein meant is Argyle, supposed to be Montrose's opponent,
though it must be remembered that Argyle had also much to do
with Huntly at Glenlivet and otherwise.

Sgor Gaoithe (wind skerry) is behind Creag Mhigeachaidh.

We have now exhausted the natural features of the country so
far as the explanation of their names is necessary, and we now
turn to the farm and field names — the bailes and townships and
other concomitants of civilisation. Commencing again at Craig
Ellachie, we meet first after crossing the crioch or boundary the
farm of Kinchyie, Cinn-Choille, wood's-end. Then

Lymvilg, the Lambulge of 1603, Lynbailg (Blaeu), signifies the
lane or land of the bag or bulge.

Ballinluig, the town (we use this term for baile, which means
" farm" or " township") of the hollow.

188 Gaelic Society of /nuerness.

Kinrara, north and south, on each side of the Spey. This
name appears about 1338 as Kynroreach ; 1440, as Kynrorayth ;
and Kynrara (1603). The kin is easy ; it is " head" or "end" as
usual. The rara or rorath is difficult. Rorath, like ro-dhuine,
(great man), might mean the great or noble (ro) rath or dwelling-
place (the Latin villa).

Dalraddyi Dalreadye (1603), and Dalrodie (Blaeu). The Gaelic
is Dail-radaidh, the radaidh dale. The adjective radaidh is in the
older form rodaidh, which is still known in Gaelic in the force of
"dark, sallow." A sallow-complexioned man might be described
&s " Duine rodaidh dorcha." The root- word is rod, iron scum or
rusty -looking mud ; it is a shorter form of ruadh (red). In
Ireland, it is pretty common, and is applied to ferruginous land.
The adjective rodaidh (dark or ruddy) might describe the
Dalraddy land. It is in connection with Dalraddy that the great
Badenoch conundrum is given : —

Bha cailleach ann Dailradaidh
'S dh' ith i adag 's i marbh.

(There was a wife in Dalraddy who ate a haddock, being
dead). With Dalraddy estate are mentioned in 1691 the lands of
Keanintachair (now or lately .ffm^tachair, causeway-end), Knock-
ningalliach (the knowe of the carlins), Loyninriach, Balivuilin
(mill-town), and the pasturages Feavorar (the lord's moss-stream),
Riocbnabegg or Biachnabegg, and Batabog (now Bata-bog, above
Ballinluig, the soft swampy place.) Another old name is Gortincreif
(1603), the gort or field (farm) of trees. Crojtgowan means the
Smith's Croft.

Delfour, Dalphour in 1603, and older forms are Dallefowr
(1569). The del or dal is for dale, but what is four ? The Gaelic
sound is fur. The word is very common in names in Pictland,
such as Dochfour, Pitfour, Balfour, Letterfour, Tillyfour, Tillipourie
and Trinafour. These forms point to a nominative pur, the p of
which declares it of non-Gaelic origin. The term is clearly Pictish.
The only Welsh word that can be compared is pawr (pasture),
pori (to graze), the Breton peur. Fur has nothing to do with
Gaelic fuar, for then Dalfour would in Gaelic be Dail-f huar, that
is Dal-uar.

Pitchurn, in 1603 Pettechaernc, in Gaelic Bal-chaorruinn, the
town of the rowan. The Pictish pet or pit (town, farm), which is
etymologically represented by the Gaelic cuid, has been changed
in modern Gaelic to baile, the true native word.

Baden och. 189

ritourie, in 1495 Pitwery, in 1603 Pettourye, in 1620
Pettevre, &c.; now BaiVodharaidh. The adjective odhar means
"dun," and odharach, with an old genitive odharaigh, or rather
<><///< i rach-mhullach, is the plant devil's bit. The plant may have
givi-ii the name to the farm.

/I'ttdow means the black town.

khicraig, Kyncragye (1603), means the end of the crag or hill,
which exactly describes it.

Leault, Gaelic Leth-allt or half-burn, a name which also appears
in Skye us Lealt, may have reference rather to the old force of
alltj which was a glen or shore. The stream and partly one-
sided glen are characteristic of the present Leault.

Dunachton ; Gaelic Dun-Neaclidain\ n), the hill-fort of Nechtan.
Who he was, we do not know. The name appears first in history
in connection with the Wolf of Badenoch. St Drostan's chapel,
below Dunachton House, is the cepella de Nachtan of 1380. We
have Dwnachtun in 1381, and Dunachtane in 1603. The barony
of Dunachton of old belonged to a family called MacNiven, which
ended in the 15th century in two heiresses, one of whom, Isobel,
married William Mackintosh, cousin of the chief, and afterwards
himself chief of the Clan Mackintosh. Isobel died shortly after
marriage childless. Tradition says she was drowned in Loch Insh
three weeks after her marriage by wicked kinsfolk. Mr Fraser-
Mackintosh has written a most interesting monograph on
Dunachton, entitled " Dunachton, Past and Present."

Achnabeachin ; Gaelic Ach' nam Beathaichean, the field of the
beasts. Last century this land held eight tenants.

Keppochmuir ; Gaelic An Sliabfi Ceapanach ; Ceapach means
a tillage plot.

Coilintuie or Meadowside. The Gaelic is Coill-an-t-Suidhe, the
Wood of the Suidh, or sitting or resting. Some hold the name is
really Cuil-an-t-Shuidh, the Recess of the Suidh.

Croftcarnoch ; Gaelic Croit-charnach, the Cairny Croft.

Belleville is, in its English form, of French origin, and means
"beautiful town." The old name in documents and in maps was
Raitts, and in the 1776 Roads' Map this name is placed exactly
where Belleville would now be written. Gaelic people call it
BaiP-a'-Bhile, " the town of the brae-top," an exact description of
the situation. Mrs Grant of Lajrgan (in 1796) says that Bellavill
" is the true Highland name of the place," not Belleville ; and
it has been maintained by old people that the place was called
Bail'-a'-Bhile before " Ossian " Macpherson ever bought it or lived
there. Whether the name is adopted from Gaelic to suit a French

190 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

idea, or vice versa, is a matter of some doubt, though we are
inclined to believe that James Macpherson was the first to call old
Raitts by such a name. James Macpherson is the most famous —
or rather the most notorious — of Badenoch's sons ; but though his
" Ossian " is a forgery from a historical standpoint, and a purely
original work from a literary point of view, yet it is to him that
Celtic literature owes its two greatest benefits — its being brought
prominently before the European world, and, especially, the
preservation of the old literature of the Gael as presented in
traditional ballads and poems, and in the obscure Gaelic manus-
cripts which were fast disappearing through ignorance and
carelessness.

Lachandhu, the little loch below Belleville, gives the name to
Sir Thomas Dick Lauder's novel.

Raitts — the English plural being used to denote that there
were three Raitts — Easter, Middle, and Wester. In 1603 the
place is called Reatt, and Blaeu has Rait. The Gaelic is Rat, and
this, which is the usual form in Highland place names, is a
strengthened form of the older rath or rdith of Old Irish, which
meant a residence surrounded by an earthern rampart. It, in
fact, meant the old farm house as it had to be built for protective
purposes. For the form rat (from rath-d), compare Bialaid,
further on, and the Irish names Kealid from caol and Croaghat
from cruach, which Dr Joyce gives in his second volume of Irish
Place Names to exemplify this termination in d.

Chapel-park ; Gaelic Pairc-an-t-Seipeil. This is a modern name,
derived from the chapel and kirk-yard that once were there, which
was known as the chapel of Ma Luac, the Irish Saint. The older
name was the Tillie or Til lie-sow, where an inn existed, whose
" Guidwife" was called Bean-an-Tillie. Some explain Tillie-sow as
the Gaelic motto that used, it is said, to be over the olden inn
doors, viz., " Tadhailibh so " — " Visit here."

Lynchat is now fiail'-a'-Chait, Cat-town, instead of Cat's field
(loinn).

An Uaimh Mhoir, the Great Cave, is a quarter of a mile away
from the highway as we pass Lynchat. It is an " Erd-house," the
only one of this class of antiquarian remains that exists in
Badenoch. It is in the form of a horse-shoe, which has one limb
truncated, about 70 feet long, 8 feet broad, and 7 lii^h. The walls
gradually contract as they rise, and the roofing is formed by large
slabs thrown over the approaching walls. Tradition says it was
made in one night by a rather gigantic race : the women carried
the excavated stuff in their aprons and threw it in the Spey,

Badenoch. 191

while the men brought the stones, large and small, on their
shoulders from the neighbouring hills. All was finished by morn-
ing, and the inhabitants knew not what had taken place. From
this mythic ground we come down to the romantic period, when,
according to the legend, MacNiven or Mac Gille-naoimh and his
nine sons were compelled to take refuge here — some say they made
the cave, and long they eluded their Macpherson foes. There was
a hut built over the mouth of the cave, and at last it was
suspected that something was wrong with this hut. So one of the
Macphersons donned beggar's raiment, called at the hut, pretended
to be taken suddenly ill, and was, with much demur, allowed to
stav all night. There was only one woman in the hut, and she
was continually baking ; and he could not understand how the
bread disappeared in the apparent press into which she put it
and which was really the entry into the cave. He at last
suspected the truth, returned with a company of men next
night, and slew the MacNivens. It is said that this man's
descendants suffered from the ailment which he pretended to have
on that fateful night,

Lagyan, the hollow, now in ruins. Here dwrelt the famous
Badenoch witch, Bean-an-Lagain.

Kerroiv ; in Gaelic, An Ceatkramh, the fourth part — of the
davoch doubtless — the davoch of " Kingussie Beige" (1603), with
its " four pleuches."

Kingussie. Already discussed under the heading of Kingussie
parish.

Ardvroilach : Gaelic Ard-bhroigkleach ; in 1603, Ardbrelache.
The form broigkleach seems a genitive plural from the same root
form as broighleag, the whortleberry. The word broighlich (braw-
ling) scarcely suits with ard, a height.

Pitmain. The Gaelic is only a rendering of the English
sounds: Piodm&an. In 1603 it is Petmeane. The reason for
their being no Gaelic form of this wrord is simply this. The great
inn and stables of the Inverness road were here, and the name
Pit-meadhan, "middle town," was adopted into the English
tongue. The Gaelic people, meantime, had been abolishing all the
pet or pit names, and changing them to JBals, but this one was
stereotyped in the other tongue, and the local Gael had to accept
the English name or perpetuate an offending form. He chose to
adopt the English pronounciation.

Balachroan ; Bellochroan (1603) ; Gaelic Baile-Chrothain, the
town of the sheepfiold. Above it was Coulinlinn, the nook of the
lint, where an old branch of Macphersons lived.

192 Gaelic Society of /nuerness.

Aldlarie ; Gaelic Allt-Lairigh, the stream of the Israeli or gorge -

Sir one means " nose."

JVewtonmore is the new town of the Moor — An Sliabh.

Clune and Craggan of Chine. The Gaelic cluain signifies
meadow land, whether high or low, in dale or on hill.

Benchar, Bannachar (1603), Beandocher (1614), and now
Beannachar, Irish beannchar (horns, gables, peaks), Welsh Banqor.
It is a very common place name. The root is beann or beinn (a
hill).

Beallid, in 1603 Ballet, in 1637 Bat lid, now Bialaid, so named
from being at the mouth of Glen-banchor — bial (mouth), with a
termination which is explained under Raitts. A " pendicle" of it,
called Corranach, is often mentioned, which probably means the
" knowey" place.

Cladh Bhri'd and Cladh Eadail, Bridget's and Peter's (?) Kirk-
yards, are the one at Benchar and the other along from Beallid, the
latter being generally called Cladh-Bhiallaid. Chapels existed
there also at one time.

Ovie, in 1603 Owey (and Corealdye, now Coraldie, corrie of
streams or cliffs), Blaeu's Owie, now Ubhaidh, appears to be a
derivative of ubh, egg : it is a genitive or locative of ubhach, spelt
and pronounced of old as ubhaigh. Mrs Grant describes Lochaii
Ovie as beauty in the lap of terror, thus suggesting the derivation
usually given of the name, viz., uamhaidh, dreadful. Some lone-
some lakes of dread near Ballintian are called Na h-uath Lochan>
the dread lakes.

Cluny, Clovnye (1603), now Cluainidh. The root is cluain
(meadow), and the termination is doubtless that in A1 Chtuanach,
a cultivated plateau behind Dunachton, and the dative singular of
this abstract form would give the modern Cluny from the older
cluanaigh.

Balgowan, Pettegovan (1603), now BaiV-a-Ghobhainn, the town
of the smith.

Gask-beg, G ask-more, Gargask, Drumgask — all with Gask, and
all near one another about Laggan Bridge. There is an older
Gasklone, Mud-Gask, the Gascoloyne of 1603, Gasklyne (1644), and
Gaskloan (1691). The form Gask appears in the Huntly rental of
1603. The name Gask is common ; there is Gask parish in
Strathearn, Perthshire, and there is a Gask in Strathnairn,
a Gask Hill in Fife, and Gask' House near Turriff. The
name Gaskan appears more than once, and in one instance applies
to a rushy hollow (Gairloch). We have Fingask in four counties
— Aberdeen, Fife, Inverness (in the Aird, but the Gaelic is now

Badenoch. 193

Fionn-ui*<i }, and Perth. Colonel Robertson, in his "Topography
of Scotland," refers Gask to gasag, diminutive of gas, branch ; but
this hardly suits either phonetically or otherwise. The word
//</>"/ seems to have slipped out of use : it belongs only to Scotch
(•'arlir, and may be a Pictish word. The dictionaries render it by
"tail," following Shaw, and mis-improving the matter by the
additional synonym " appendage," which is not the meaning; for
the idea is rather the posterior of an animal, such as that of the
hind, which 1 )um-an Ban refers to in this case as "white" — "gasganaii
gi.-ala,'5 and which makes an excellent mark for the deer-stalker.
Tlio dictionaries give gasgan, a puppy ; gasganach, petulant ; and
gasgant (</<t!<>/<ina ?), posteriors ; all which Shaw first gives There
is also the living word gasgay, a stride, which no dictionary gives.
These derivations throw very little light on the root word gasg,
which seems to signify a nook, gusset, or hollow. The Laggan
are now " rich meadows, bay shaped," as a native well
describes them. It was at Gaskbeg that the gifted Mrs Grant of
Laggan lived, and here she sang of the beauties of the Bronnach
si ream — the Gaelic Bronach, the "pebbly" (?) — which flows through
the farm.

Blargie, in 1603 Blairovey, in Bleau Blariki, and in present
Gaelic Blaragaidh. The termination agaidh appears also in
Gallovie, which, in 1497, is Galoivye, and now Geal-agaidh, the
white agaidh. The word appears as a prefix in Aviemore and
Avielochan, both being agaidh in Gaelic. The old spelling of
these words with a v, as against the present pronounciation with
//, is very extraordinary. The meaning and etymology of agaidh
are doubtful. Shaw gives aga as the " bottom of any depth," and
there is a Welsh word ag, a "cleft or opening." The word may
be Pictish.

Coull, in Gaelic Cuil, means the "nook, corner," which the
place is.

Ballmishag means the town of the kid, miseag or minnseag.

Crathie, in 1603 Crathe, in Blaeu Cracky, now in Gaelic
Craichidh. The name appears in the Aberdeenshire parish of
Crathie. The form Crathie possibly points to an older Gaelic
Crathigh.

Garvabeg and Garvamore, the Garvey Beige and Garvey Moir
of 1603. The word at present sounds as Garbhath, which is
usually explained as garbh-ath, rough ford, a very suitable meaning
and a possibly correct derivation.

Shirramore and Shirrabeg, the Waster Schyroche and E*l*r
Schirochevi 1603. Sheiro-more, in 1773, is in Gaelic Siorrath Mdr.

13

194 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

With these names we must connect the adjoining glen name,
Glen*hirrat Gaelic Glenn Sioro, a name which appears also in
Argyleshire, near Inverary, as Glenshira, Glenshyro (1572),
traversed by the Shira stream. The root word appears to be sir
or sior, long. Some suggest siaradh, squinting, obliqueness.

Aberarder, Blaeu's Abirairdour, Gaelic Obair ardur. There is
an Aberarder (Aberardor in 1456, and Abirardour in 1602) in
Strathnairn, and another in Deeside, and an Auchterarder in
Strathearn. The Aber is the Pictish and Welsh prefix for
"confluence," Gaelic inver. The ardour is etymologised in the
Ordnance map as Ard-dhoire, high grove. The word may be from
ard dobhar, high water, for the latter form generally appears in
place names as dour.

Ardverikie has been explained correctly in the " Province of
Moray," published in 1798, as "Ard Merigie, the height for rearing
the standard." The Gaelic is Ard Mheirgidh, from meirge, a
standard.

Gallovie. — See under Blargie.
Muccoul is from A/uc-cuil, Pigs' nook.
AchduchU means the field of the black wood.
Dalchully, Gaelic Dail-chuilidh. The word cuilidh signifies a
press or hollow. It means the " dale of the hollow or recess."
Tynrich is for Tigh-an-Fhraoich, house of the heath.
tiatlodge, in 1603 Cattelleitt, and in 1776 Catleak, is in present
Gaelic Caitleag, the Cat's Hollow. The form cait is unusual ; we
should, by analogy with Muc-cuil and other names where an
animal's name comes first in a possessive way, expect Catlaig
rather than Caitleag.

Brcakachy, Brackachye (1603), is usually explained as Breac-
achaidh. speckled field ; but the latter part in achaidh is as likely
to be a matter of affixes, viz., ach-aigh. We shall now cross the
hills into Glentruim and up Loch Ericht side. There at Loch
Ericht Lodge we have

Dail-an-Longairt, in 1773 Rea Delenlongart, and on the other
side of the ridge is Coire-an-Longairt (Cory Longart 1 773), while
there is an Eilean Longart above Garvamore bridge and " Sheals
of Badenlongart" in Gaick above the confluence of Bran, according
to the 1773 map. Longart itself means a shealing, the older form
being longphort, a harbour or encampment.

Dalhwinnie, in Gaelic Dail-chuinnidh, is usually explained as
Dail-choinnimh, Meeting's Dell ; but the phonetics forbid the
derivation. Professor Mackinnon has suggested the alternative of

Badenoch. 195

the " narrow dail" Dalwhinnie was a famous station in the old
coaching days, and the following verse shows how progress north-
wards might be made : —

Brakbhaist am Baile-chloichridh
Lunch an Dail-na-ceardaich
Dinneir an Dail-chuinnidh
'S a' bhanais ann an Rat.

Presmuckerach, not the Ordnance Presmocachie, is in 1603
Prenjn i. km, that is Preas-Mucraigh, bush of piggery or pigs.

Datannach. which the Ordnance map etymologises into Dail-
yl<-<in)i'ich or Glen-dale, was in 1603 Dallandache, and is now
Dail-annack. The old form points to the word lann or land, an
enclosure or glade. The Irish Annagh, for Eanach, a marsh, will
scarcely do, as the name appears in Loch Ennich in its proper
Gaelic phonetics.

Crubinuiore, Crobine (1603), now Crubinn. The names Crubeen,
Cruboge, Slievecroob, &c., appear in Ireland, and are referred by
Dr Joyce to crub (a paw, hoof), cruibin (a trotter, little hoof). The
Gaelic crubach (lame), and craban (a crouching), are further forms
of the root word, a locative case from the latter form being pos-
sibly our Crubin, referring to the two " much back-bent hills
there.'"'

Etteridge, Ettras (1603), Etrish (1776), is in Gaelic Eatrais.
The name of Phoineas cannot be disconnected with Etteridge, for
the former in Gaelic is Fothrais or Fotharais, with the Pictish
prefix father, while Etteridge has the proposition eadar (between)
as its first part. The terminal party's, is common in place names,
such as Dallas, Duffus, and Torres, the latter being practically our
Phoness ; and this Lachlan Shaw explains as being uis (water). It
seems to be first for an older asti, this for osti, and this again for
Celtic vostis, a town or baile. The word fuis (rest) is from this root.
Nessintu/lich, Nesintuliche (1603), now Niosantulaich, is probably
for Neasan-tulaich, the place beside the hillock, neasan, the next
place, which is an Irish word, from neasa (nearer).

1' koines, Foynes (1603), has already been discussed. How the
n comes to stand in the English for Gaelic r is very puzzling.

Invernahavon, Invernavine (1603), means the confluence of the
river, that is, of the Truim with Spey.

R'dia, Gaelic Rath-liath, means the grey rath or dwelling-
place.

Nidde, Nuid (1603), Noid (1699), now Noid. The derivation
suggested for the name is nuadh-id, a topographic noun from the
adjective nuadh or nodha, new ; of old, " Noid of Ralia."

196 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Knappack, in Gaelic A1 Chnapaich, the hilly or knobby land,
Jt is a common place-name, especially in Ireland, appearing there
as Knappagh and Nappagh.

Ruthven, which is also the first form the name appears in in
1370, when the " Wolf" took possession of the lordship of
Badenoch. It was here he had his castle. In 1380 the name is
Rothven and Ruthan. The name is common all over Pictland,
mostly in the form Ruthven, but also at various times and places
spelt Ruthfen, Ruwen, Ruven, Riv(v)en, &c. The modern Gaelic
is JKuadhinn, which simply means the " red place," from ruadhan,
anything red. The v of the English form lacks historic explana-
tion. Brae-ruthven gives the phonetically interesting Gaelic Ere-
ruadhnach.

Gordon Hall (so in 1773 also) is in Gaelic Lag-an-Notair, the
Notary's Hollow, for it is a hollow. The name and its proximity to
Ruthven Castle mutually explain one another : Gordon Hall was
doubtless the seat of the Gordon lords of Badenoch, when the
castle of Ruthven was changed to barrack purposes. Here the
rents used to be "lifted" for the Gordon estates.

Killiehuntly, Keillehuntlye (1603), Blaeu's Kyllehunteme, in
present Gaelic Coille-Chuntainn, the wood of Contin. Huntly is
in Gaelic Hundaidh, and M'Firbis, in the 16th century, has
Hundon ; hence arises the English form. The popular mind still
connects it with the Huntlies. Contin is a parish in Ross-shire,
and there was a Contuinn in Ireland, on the borders of Meath and
Cavan, which is mentioned in connection with Fionn's youthful
exploits. It has been explained as the meeting of the waters, con-
(with) and tuinn (waves), but the matter is doubtful.

Inveruglas, Inneruglas (1603), in Gaelic Inbhir-ulais, the inver
of Ulas, although no such stream exists now, receives its explana-
tion from the old Retours, for in 1691 we have mention of Inveru-
glash and its mill-town on the water of Duglass, which means the
stream passing the present Milton. Hence it means the inver of
the Duglass or dark stream, dubh (black), and glais (stream).

Soillierie, in Gaelic Soileiridh, means the " bright conspicuous
place," on the rising beyond the Insh village.

Lyncklaggan stands for the Gaelic Loinn-Chlaiginn, the Glade
of the Skull, possibly referring to the knoll above it rather than to
an actual skull there found ; the name is applied in Ireland to
such skull-like hills.

Am Beithe means the Birch.

Farletter is the old name for Balnacraig and Lynchlaggan, and
it appears m 1603 as Ferlatt and Falatrie (1691). It took its.

Badenoch. 197

name from the hill above, now called Craig Farleitir. The word
F'lrlt'itir contains leitir, a slope or hillside, and possibly the pre-
position/or (over), though we must remember the Fodderletter of
Strathavon with its Pictish Fotter, or Fetter, or Father (?).

Forr is situated on a knolly ridge overlooking Loch Insh, and
evidently contains the preposition for (over), as in orra for forra,
on them. The last r or ra is more doubtful. Farr, in Strath-
dearn, is to be compared with it.

Dalnavert, in 1338 and 1440 Dalnafert, in 1603 Dallavertt,
now in Gaelic Dail-a'-bkeirt, which is for Dail-an-bheart, the dale
of the grave or trench, from feart, a grave, which gives many place
names in Ireland, such as Clonfert, Moyarty, &c.

Cromaran is possibly for Crom-raon, the crooked field.

Balnain is for Beal an-ctthai?i} the ford mouth.

Ballintian, the town of the fairy knoll, was called of old
Countelawe (1603) and Cuntelait (1691), remembered still vaguely
as the name of the stretch up the river from Ballintian, and
caplained as Cwintadh-l&id, the counting (place) of the loads !
Perhaps, like Contin, it is for Con-tuil-aid, the meeting of the
waters, that is, of Feshie and Fernsdale, which takes place here.

Balanscrittan, the town of the sgriodan or running gravel.

Bulroy, for Bhuaill-ruaidh, the red fold.

Tolvak, the hole of drowning.

Achlean, for Achadh-leatkainn, is broad field. Beside it is
Achlum, for Achadh-lium, the field of the leap.

Ruigh-aiteachain may possibly be a corruption for Ruigh
Aitneachain, the Stretch of the Junipers.

Ruigk-fionntaiffj the Reach of the Fair-stream.

In the Dulnan valley is Caggan, the Gaelic of which is An
Caiyinn, and there is "a stony hill face" in Glen-Feshie of like
name.

19th MARCH, 1890.

On this evening, Mr William Mackay, solicitor, Inverness, read
a paper before the Society, entitled "How the Macleods lost
Assynt." Mr Mackay's paper was as follows : —

HOW THE MACLEODS LOST ASSYNT.

The wild district of Assynt, in the west of Sutherlandshire,
was possessed by a branch of the great family of Macleod from the
beginning of the fourteenth century, when Torquil Macleod of the

198 Gaelic Society of Inverness

Lews acquired it by marrying the heiress of Macnicol of Assynt,
till the latter half of the seventeenth century, when Neil Macleod
was deprived of it by the Mackenzies of Seaforth. The commonly
received story of the loss of the estate is that Neil, who, in 1649,
seized the Marquis of Montrose after his defeat in Ross-
shire, and sold him to the Covenanters for £20,000 Scots and 400
bolls of sour meal, was, after the Restoration, so persecuted by the
Government and the Mackenzies that in some way or other he lost
the estate, and the Mackenzies succeeded to it. The precise
manner in which he was deprived of it has, however, not been
condescended on by the writers on the subject, and the following
" Information" may therefore be of interest to the members of this
Society, and of use to the future Highland historian. The
document was written in 1738 for the use of the Laird of Macleod,
who interested himself in the dispossessed family. It came into the
possession of the famous Simoii Lord Lovat, with whose papers it
passed into the hands of the Rev. Donald Fraser of Killearnan.
It now belongs to Mr Fraser's great grandson, the Rev. Hector
Fraser of Halkirk, who has kindly placed it at my disposal.

INFORMATION CONCERNING THE METHOD BY WHICH THE McLEODS WERE
DISPOSSESSED OF THE ESTATE OF ASSINT— WRITTEN ANiNO 1738.

It is tho't fit to make a short naratione of the hardships which
Neil of Assint and his family suffered from the family of Seaforth
and the Friends yreof which ended in the possessing at length of
the sd Assints Estates, together wt a brief accott of the original
ground and Claime upon qch yey at first pretended to found yeir
right, and cruel procedure, and of ye steps taken by Niel of Assint
for recovering of his right and that for the informaton of the
Lawyer to be employed by the Laird of McLeod whatever use yey
may have opportunity to make yereof in Pleading or otherwise.

Its hopd that as yere is a younger son1 of the family by a
Second marriage that pretends some right to the Estate of Assint,
it will not be improper to give some accott how the late Niel, who
was the direct heir male of ye Family, attained the possession of
the Estate, and is as follows : — Donald McLeod, alias Nielson of
Assint, and grand fayr [father] to the Late Niel, was first married to
a Daugr of Lord Reays, by whom he had Niel, who was Fayr to the
late Niel of Assint, and John, who was Fayr to Captain Donald
McLeod of Geanzies. Niel, son to Donald, died young, a long
time before his Fayr,2 leaving his two sons Niel and John infants

1 Macleod of Cadboll descended from Hugh, son of Donald Macleod of
Assynt, by Christian Ross, his second wife.

2 Mackenzie (History of Macleods, page 410) says that Neil was tenth of
Assynt, and u does not seem to have long outlived his father." ft appears
from this Information that he predeceased his father.

How the Macleods Lost Assynt. 199

to yeir grandfayrs care, but yr Grandmother dying before Niel his
son married, Donald married — . Ross, Daugr to Pitcalney, by whom
he had two sons, the eldest called Donald commonly called Donald
Bui no Oig, and Second Hugh, yrafter of Cambuscurry, whose
Set-mid Son Angus was Fayr to this Cadboll, there being no direct
Issue now liveing of his Son Roderick, but one Daugr now married
To John Urquhart of Mount Eagle. Donald's second wife haveing
got the management of her husband (he being old) and of his
Estates She wt the Rents yrof purchased Pluscardies apprising
and Severall other debts on the Estate, and bought the Lands of
(Janibiiscurry from her Broyr Pitcalny, and took Assignation to all
those debts in the Person of her eldest son Donald qo by virtue
yreof possessed the Estate severall years, tho his f ayr was alive, but
he dying unmaeried before his Fayr was succeeded by his Broyr
Hugh who possessed the Estate for two years till his nephew Niel
the Late Assin was Major, at which time Hugh disponed him the
Estate, who thereon was infeft, as appears by an instrument yreon
dated the 12th Septr 1649, and registrate the 8th Jany 1650, Fol.
().") and 66, Vols. 1st, John Gray, Notar.

Tho it is probable by qt follows that Hugh, upon disponing the
Estate to Niel, did not give up all the Rights and Tittles His
Broyr and he had to the sd Estate, its likely yt some of ym have
come into hands that now have tho't of Quarrelling Niel's Tittle
bv saying that Hugh did not serve heir or make up proper tittles
To his Broyr Donald, tho he disponed Neil the Estates ; but as
Niel was in possession of the Estate from the year 1650 to 1672,
when he was violently dispossessed by Seaforth, and was also from
ye year 1672 to 1692 (when he obtained the decret of Spoulizie)
endeavouring to recover his right, and the Mackenzies have
possessed it upon Niel's Right from that time till now, and this
being about 90 years, it is expected that these rights, tho better
founded than they seem to be, will not now avail much. It is also
to be noticed that on the reduction and Improbation which Niel
executed agst all his creditors Hugh his uncle is contained in it,
and his son Angush the late of Cadboll.

It appears also that Niel pursued his uncle Hugh in a process
of exhibition, in qch there was an Act and Commission ordaining
Hugh to depone before the Sheriff depute of Sutherland on the
writts he had belonging to Niel, and tho Hugh compeared Niel
was not willing that his oath should be received till first he had
delivered and given him the whole writts and Evidences of the
Estate of Assint, which the sd Hugh had in his possession, and
which he was obliged to give him conform to the bond of

200 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Alienation and Disposition made and granted by the said Hugh to
him of the sd Estate, and upon upgivving of them he was willing
to take his Oath as to all other writs and evidents which he had,
as appeals by ye prinll [principal] Instrument extant dated at
Dunrobin the 12 of Septr 1683.

It is to be adverted that the following narrative is taken from
som old papers write for Niel McLeod of Assint, chiefly these
which follow, viz. : —

1st. Informa'on (Anno 1673) Niel McLeod of Assint, contra
the Earle of Seaforth and the name of McKenzie, showing yir
inhuman dealings with him and his family.

2nd. Anoyr information (Anno 1683) ye Tittle whereof is in
words to the same proport wt the former.

3rd. Information for the Laird of Assint agst ye Earle of
Seaforth, and his Brother, Mr John McKenzie, and oyrs (Anno
1684), Beside oyr Papers yt may be hereafter rnentiond.

From qt is represented in yese informations, it would [appear]
that from the time yt Seaforth made a right (such as it was) to the
Isle of Lews for paymt of 10,000 mks, and afterwards, in Lieu of
that, for a mile of the wood of Letterew, that he and his family
had it still in view to make ymselves masters of the Estate of
McLeod of Assint qo was Lineal heir to the Estate of Lews.

In consequence of this view and design, Seaforth purchased
Sevrall old Claims (some of ym very unjust, as they are particlary
represented in Mel's information, Anno 1673) agst Assint, qch
were put in person of Pluscardy, Seaforth's Brother. In 1637
Seaforth and Pluscardy, by virtue of these claims and ye Tittles
founded thereon, gave a Wadsett of ye Lands of Assint To Kenneth
McKenzie of Scatwell, for Security of 40,000 mks, Anno 1640.
The Legal of those Claims and Apprisings being expired, Seaforth
did, with his friends and Clan, to the number of 1000 men, Invade
Assint, and did yere committ great outrages. He being for this
pursued at Law, was decerned in 40,000 pds Scots of Dammages
This payd a great part of his claim, and qt remained was payed, or
oyrwise transacted, as appears by what follows : —

The Ld [Lord] Register Tarbat, being Long after yt called as a
Witness in the Process of Spoulize of Assint's Charter Chiest,
depones in the following tearmes, viz. : — That he, the depon't,
haveing right by Assignation from John McKenzie of Scatwell to
an infeftm'nt of annual rent of ye sum of 40,000 niks, granted by
George, Earle of Seaforth, and Thomas McKenzie of Pluscardine,
To Kenneth McKenzie, Fayr to the Sd John, in the Lands and
Estate of Assint, in ye year 1637, or in ye year 1638, or yere

How the Macleods Lost Assynt. 201

about, and the Depon't being informed yt ye Sd George, E. of
Scai'orth, and Thomas McKenzie of Pluscardy. had made a right to
Donald McNiel of Assint, grundfayr to Niel, the pursuer of the
sd Kstato, qerein they had obligd themselves to free the Said
Kstate of the said infeftiuent, he was desirous to know if there
was any such a Right, and qt was the tenor of it which the Sd E.
of Scaforth did bring to the Deponent to peruse the same, and that
yey were taken out of Assint's Charter Chiest, and that the
•deponent did peruse them, and did find them of the Sd Tenor.
There is also amongst this E. of Cromarty's Papers a Coppy of an
Alienation and Disposition of the right of apprising, by Thomas
McKenzie of Pluscardin, in favours of Donald McLeod, younger of
Assint, dated Anno 1642 and 1643, with anoyr coppy of the same.

There is also in the Sd place ye Prinall. obligation by Thos.
McKenzie of Pluscardy and his Catr. [cautioner] to Dod. McLeod
•of Assint for obtaining the E. of Seaforths Charater of Confirma-
tion to him, dated ye 5th of Aprile 1643 years, Together wt an
Inventory of Writes Belonging to Assint Dated Ao. 1662, all
folded in one bundle marked on the back number 21.

Notwtstanding of qt is above represented and that it seems
Assint did fully Satisfy and pay Seaforth and Pluscardy To whom
the sd Claims did belong ; yet the sd. Claim has been all
alongs made use of agst the Estate of Assint since yt
time. For Seaforth and Pluscardy haveing antecedently to
ye Obligaton forsd To Assint conveyed their Right to Scat well
.as Is mentiond in the above Disposion, John the Sd Scat-
well's eldest son conveyed the same To Tarbat, Tarbat conveyed
the same to Angush Macleod of Cadboll, and Cadboll having Septr
2d, 1690, got a Wadset from Mr John McKenzie of Assint, which
extinguished 10,000 mrks of the sd claim of 40,000 mrks, did wt
Consent of Ld Tarbat dispon to the Sd Mr John McKenzie ye
AVadsett entred into between Seaforth and Scatwell, in so far as
Concerns the remaining 30,000 merks. This Disposition is sd To
be Dated Septr llth 1696, and no doubt but it is among the
prinill [principal] Register McKenz of Assint has to produce to
the Estate.

It is Supposed and believed that Cadboll gave Tarbat for the
above Claime no more than 10,000, and got no more good Deed
for the whole 40,000 than the 10,000 above mentioned.

Besides qt bade usage the people of Assint met wt from Seaforth
Ao. 1670 as is above narrated yey did further undergo ye outmost
hardships Ao. 1646 as follows : —

In that year Seaforths men haveing joined Montrose at Inver-
ness, where were likewise a 100 men of Assints under his Superior

202 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Seaforths command, and Niel of Assint himself, then a minor,
being a friend in Seaforth's House at Braen, Seaforth ordred his
men in the Highlands to fall upon Assints Estate, where yey made
fearful Havock, carried away, as Niel represents, 3000 cows, 2000
horses, 7000 sheep and goats, and burnt the habitations of 180
Familys. When complaint was made of this at the South, Sea-
forth was brought of by the interest of Middletown and by virtue
of a Capitulation which he had with Seaforth qn in the North.

In the year 1654 tSeaforth led about a body of his own men wt
a part of the broken army under the command of Middletown to-
Assint and made great depredations, destroyed a very great
Quantity of Wine and Brandy which the Laird of Assint had
bought, besides other commodities, in all to the value of 50,000
mrks out of a Ship then on that Coast, Carryed of 2400 Cows, 1500
Horses, about 6000 Sheep and Goats, besides that he burnt and
destroyed many familys. Assint was not lyable in Law to any
such usage from them haveing Receipts from Seaforth and Lord
Reay for his proportion of the Levie apptd at that time for the
Kings Service. When Middleton came to that country he
declare I he had given no Warrant for what Seaforth had done,
and that in presence of the Lord McDonald and Sr George Munro,
&c. When Assint pursued Seaforth before the English Judges of
the time, Seaforth defeated his process by proveing that Assint
had been in Armes agst the English, and did then alleadge no
Cause for the Injuries done by him to Assint but a private quarrell.
But when Assint did afterwards at the Restoraton pursue Seaforth,
he alleadged in Defence that he had acted by a warrant from
Middletown who was then Commissioner to the Parliament. But
Niel says if yere was any such warrant it was certainly given
posterior to the Injuries done him. However things stood yn
in such way that Niel was not Likely to procure any Justice.

It is to be observed that after the Restoration Niel of Assint
under went great disadvantages on accott of Montrose,1 who had
been unluckly taken in his country, and for which Niei was accused
and pursued criminally at Edr., but he haveing proved that he
was when Montrose was taken at no less than 60 milles Distance
from his country, and that he had no hand in it, he was by an
Assize assoilzied as innocent of the Sd process.

And to make it further evident that he had no hand in That

barbarous Cruel action, he was put under So great hardships by

the Ld of Seaforth and his friends that he was obliged in the year

1674 to procure a Remission (whereof yre is a noteriall copy

1 See Hist, of Macleocls, 411-419. Wiahart's Life of Montrose, 377.

How the Macleods Lost Assynt. 203

extent) for defending his house of Assint, and tho the Sd remission
containing all the Crimes1 that could be imagined or mustered
up agst him there is not the Least mention made of his being
accessory to the tragicall action qch could not possibly be if He
had not been formerly assoilzied, as that crime was much greater
yan all the Rest contained in the remission ; however, the pred-
juices that had been conceived upon that Accott were so strong
agst him that his Enemies had great advantage thereby wt respect
to all their methods by which yey did effectuate his Ruine.

But the Claime upon qch the McKenzies did principally found
their pretended right to Assints Estate was this which follows : —

Neil of Assint wt. McKenzie of Scatwell did unluckly become
Catr. [cautioner] in a Bond granted by Ross of Little Tarroll for
about 150 pds. Sterline, upon which anno 1656 apprising was Laid
agst the Estate of Assint at the instance of the Laird of May, in
whose person the Claim was intrust for McKenzie of Scatwell, one
of tho Cationers to whom the same was afterwards assigned by May
Scatwell assigned it to Sr. George McKenzie of Tarbat and Mr
John McKenzie, Second Son to the Earle of Seaforth. Niel
Represents that qn. he apprehended danger from the Claim he
fell upon proper methods towards purgeing his Estate of ye same,
but that he was disuaded from it by the Lord Tarbat his Cousin
German, who promised, he says, and swore solemnly before many
witnesses, that the Catry. and apprising should not militate agst
him and his estate, and that his paying of the debt would irritate
Seaforth agst him, as qt would disapoint another design of his.

There is also a Copy of an Instrumt., John McCurchy, Notar
dated 21 Septr. 1667, desiring and Requiring Kenneth E. of
Seaforth to receive the sd. sum contained in Little Tarroll's Bond
Priulls. and @ rents [annual rents or interest], as also all
the by gon feu duties that were resting, and that in the
new Kirk of Edr., within 40 days after the date of the
sd. Instrument, and its thot. that the prinll. Instrument
as weell as the Instrument of Consigna'on wis among
Assint's papers when Spoulizied. Howevir some years yereafter,
viz. in the year 1668 or 1699 or 1670, the Legal of the apprising
being expired, Decreet of Mailes and Duties was obtained upon
the claim agst. the Estate of Assint and ejection agst. himself.
Upon pursueing this ejection in 1671, severall illegall steps were
alleadged agst. Assint, particularly holding out the Castle of Ard-
break agst. the King and his oyrwise violently opposing the

lln 1674 he was tried for various crimes, including the betrayal of Mon-
trose. — Hist, of Macleods, 417.

204 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Ejection, whereupon Niel of Assint (who it seems had been
negligent in defending himself agst. the forsd accusations) was
denounced Rebell, and Commission of fire and sword was obtained
in Jully 1672 agst. him and his people, directed to Ld. Strathnair
[Strathnaver] and Lovat, Fowles, &c.

The Body of men ordred to execute that Commission to the
number as Niel represents of 2300 invaded Assint the forsd year
1672, and committed most horrid Barbarities (particulary narrated
in Niel's Informations), till all ye country of Assint was destroyed.

Niel haveing under the benefit of a protection gon to commune
with Seaforth, he gave Niel a Certificate of his having obeyed the
King's Laws, and 15 days to advise about a proposition he had
made him of his disponing his estate to him. But Niel thinking
it not safe or fit for him to return, resolved to go South to Edr.
and to carry his Charter Chest wt. him. Seaforth being appre-
hensive, it seems, of the consequence of Assint's goeing to Edr.
immediately entered into Correspondence and concert about the
matter with the Laird of May in Caithness. The consequence
was : Assint being driven by unfavourable wind to the Orkneys,
the Laird of May wt. a body of men seized him there, to be sure
under the notion of an outlaw, and by Commission from Seaforth
stripd him to his shirt, robbd him of everything, particularly of
his Charter Chest and of all the Writtes and Evidents belonging
to his family and Estate, carried them to the Castle of May qre
he was keept prisoner in a Vault. From thence he was carried
prisoner under a strong guard to Taine, and at last to Braen,
Seaforth's House. In Braen (to which place the Charter Chest
was brought, as was afterwards proved in the Process of Spoulizie)
Niel was many months detained prisoner in a Vault in most
miserable circumstances, still threatened wt. worse usage if he
would not agree to subscribe a blank paper, probably designed for
a Disposition to his Estate, which was, it seems, the great thing
designed to be procured from him by all this bad usage. At last
Niel was brought South to Edr., where he arrived after being in
13 or 16 Prisons, and in end he obtained the Remission formerly
mentioned.

Its evident that now the McKenzies had as great advantage as
they could wish for efFectuat'ng yeir design agst Assint and his
family and Estate. Their own great interest and power in these
times is well known. Tho Assint was not at length found to have
any hand in Takeing of Montrose, yet was he for many years
harrassd and imprisond on that accott, and was under Cloud for
it, it haveing happened in his country and perhaps some of his

How the Macleods Lost Assynt 205

friends being concerned in it. He was in prison when the ejection
was procured agst him. The steps taken in Law agst him, he was
by reason of his great distance ignorant of it till it was too late,
when he endeavoured to Correspond wt. proper Agents and
Luwvers at Edr. for his own defence. He says his expresses or
Posts were oftner than once seized and Imprisoned at Chanory.
When he was in the South, the contributions of his friends for his
support were intercepted; his friends were put to great hardships
at home by their new master for showing any inclina?on to succour
him in his distress. By all these means the unfortunate gentle-
man was reduced to great poverty and misery, and was disabled
from procureing ye Interest or affording the Expense needful in
order to obtain Justice agst. such potent adversaries.

Though the claims to which ye McKenzies pretended when
they first possessed his Estate were either formerly payd or now
extinguished by their intromission, yet it was easy for them, being
now possessd of his Estate, to get in old injust patched claims
from such who had them, and, being possessd of his Charter Chest
and of the retired Vouchers of Debts therein contained, by all these
means to make additional Tittles to the Estate of Assint, while he,
poor gentleman ! besides his other misfortunes, was deprived of
his writes and of all the Evidences needful to be produced in his
defence agst. the claims of his adversaries.

As the McKenzies after possessing the Estate had all the
adventages above mentioned wt respect to new Claims and
additionall Tittles ; it is not pretended to be now told what
additional tittles they made. What yey founded yr first
possession upon hath been already represented. If oyr grounds of
lltghts should be afterwards brought furth for McKenzie of Assint
it is supposed that these concerned will be Seasonably acquainted
therewith in order to give such informations as they can collect
from such writtings as may be in their hands.

However, under all his disadvantages Neil endeavoured to do
something towards obtaining Justice to himself and his family,
and to that end he did Ao. 1679 and 1680 commence a process of
reduction, &c., agst Seaforth and all oys [others] whom he knew to
have or to pretend to have claims agst his Estate

In this process there are two Acts extracted (which are extent
as are the Summts and their executions), and the Last of the Two
tearms granted to the defenders having elapsed the 1st of Novem-
ber 1681 ; After intimation yreof and Calling of the Act there
was Certification Creaved Nothing having been produced. To
prevent ys two things were objected agst Niel, 1 that he had no

206 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

tittle In his person to the Lands of Assint, 2 That he was at the
Horn, and so had no personam Standi in Judices. There is extant
an information for Niel Ao. 1682, which contains very pertinent
answers to yese objections qch may be She wen if thre shall be
occasion. But the Writes and Evidences that were needfull for
Niel in the above and othr processes being taken from him qn he
was Robbd of his Charter Chest, and being in the hands of his
chief adversaries he was advised stop in his process of Reduction,
and to commence a Process of Spoulizie agst Seaforth, May, and
oyrs concerned in the Spoulizie and detention of his Chartar Chest
and Writtes. Accordingly he raised a Process of Spoulizie agst
Seaforth, May, Dumbeth, and some others. By the depositions
taken in that process it appeared that the Chartar Chest was
brought to Seaforth's house. But Seaforth haveing dyed while
the Process was in dependence there appears in the Process an
Oath of his Successor, who Swears that he not then nor formerly
had the Chartar Chest nor knew what was become of it ; And as
he was not charged with having a hand in the Spoulizie he was
freed yreof and of the consequences of it by the Lords. Neil
haveing given in an Inventar of ye writtes contained in his chest,
his oath in litem was taken thereanent, And he referred his
expense and Dammage to the judgement of the Lords. They did
Ao. 1692 decern the Soum of 2000 Libs Scots of Expences and
Dammages to be payed To him by the defenders, Supersiding the
further modification of the dammages till the Sd Neil should give
a more par'lar condescendance yereanent. But it is needless to
insist more fully on this part of the information, Seeing a more
full and exact view may be easily got by perusing the Decreet of
Spoulizie now in the hands of .

It is only to be narrated on this head that Neil of his own
assigned the Decreet of Spoulizie above narrated to his nephew
and Lineal Heir, Captain Donald Macleod of Gainzies, who has
done dilligence thereon. The same remains as the ground of a
present depending Process Ao. II 36, for what yreof is unpayd.

The unfortunate gentleman Niel M'Leod, Laird of Assint,
being unabled by unparalelled bad usage, trouble, and poverty,
and at length by old age, it does not appear that he went any
further towards obtaining of Justice than what is above narrated
in Relaton to the Process's of Reduction and Spoulizie.

Tho Niel of Assint, under all these disadvantages, and
especially by reason of the want of his writts, was able to Doe so
little for himself and his family, his adversaries were not wanting
to use their Endeavours to make ye best Tittles they could in Law

How the Mac/eods Lost Assynt 207

(however its founded as to materiall Justice) and for this end
Imrrussed him wt Processes of Reduction, &c. The chief thing
that was done this way was by Roderick M'Kenzie of Preston Hall,1
who at length conveyed his claim and Tittles to Mr John
M'Kenzie of Assint,2 on condition of paying to him the soum of
10,000 merks, which* is the foundation of the Claim presently
insisted in by Alexr. M'Kenzie of Frazerdale3 and Hugh Fraser of
Lovat, Esqr., his son, agst the Estate of Assint, in relation to
which Claim there will be a short information soon sent of objec-
tions and what else may occurr.

During the dependence of Niel's Process of reduction above-
mentioned, seeing he forsaw that he could not himself so easily be
able to bring the same to the desired issue So soon as would be neces-
sary for him ; yet that his family and Estate might not altogether
be lost to his Kindred and next Heir, he did make an agreemt.
thereanent with his best and most considerable relation, John,
Laird of M'Leod, and did, for certain onerous causes, make a
disposition of his whole Estate of Assint to him, dated at Ednr.,
Novr. 24th, 1681 years, which Disposition is now the foundation
of a Process commenc'd by the present Laird of M'Leod, his
grandson, Ao. 1738.

From what is above briefly narrated, it may be easily per-
ceived by what harsh and unjust and Crewl methods the M'Leods
were deprived and Dispossessed of the Estate of Assint, their
ancient inheritance. If more par'lar accotts are wanted the
nearest relations of yt family will be ready to give what further
information they can from such old papers as are in their hands.

26th MARCH, 1890.

The paper for this date was by Mr Alex. Macpherson, solicitor,
Kingussie, on the Biallid MSS. Mr Macpherson's paper was as
follows : — -

SELECTIONS FROM THE MSS. OF THE LATE CAPTAIN
MACPHERSON, BIALLID.

The following papers have been selected from the manuscripts
of the late Captain Lachlan Macpherson of the 52nd Regiment,
long so popularly known in Badenoch as " Old Biallid," who died

1 Brother of Lord Tarbat.

2 Son of Seaforth.
3 Son of Preston HalL

208 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

at Biallid, in the Parish of Kingussie, on 20th May, 1858, at the
ripe old age of eighty-nine, and whose memory is still cherished
with pridj by every native of the district.

Of superior mental capacity and force of character, and as.
upright and true-hearted a Highlander as ever trod the heather,
Captain Macpherson was widely known and honoured far beyond
the limits of Badenoch as one of the ablest and most patriotic men.
of his time in the North. No less distinguished, as he was, for his.
intimate and accurate knowledge of the history, traditions, and
folklore of the central Highlands, the manuscripts left by him
possess considerable historical interest, and have been kindly
given to me by his grandson, Mr Macpherson of Corrimony, with
permission to have such portions thereof as might be deemed
suitable printed in the " Transactions" of this Society.

The selections which follow have accordingly been made,,
embracing (1) The Old Deer Forests of Badenoch ; (2) Macniven's
Cave, or the old cave of Raitts in Badenoch ; (3) The Clan Battle
on the North Inch of Perth in 1396 ; (t) The Battle of Glenfruin;
(5) The Battle of Blarleine ; and (6) Colonel John Roy Stewart.
To the account of the Badenoch Deer Forests, there is appended a
jotting in pencil to the effect that it was writen in 1838 "at
Cluny's request, for a gentleman who intended to write a history
of the Scottish Forests." That account is, with sundry imaginary
dialogues, narrated in Scrape's Deer Stalking in the Scottish
Highlands 1 — originally published about half a century ago — the
narrative being prefaced by the remark that " the account I am
about to relate, as well as I can from memory, was most obligingly
given to me by Cluny Macpherson, Chief of Clan Chattan, a very
celebrated and accomplished sportsman." The author of that
work, in giving the particulars of the Badenoch Forests, lets his
imagination run riot in the way of prefacing and interlarding the
narrative with the most absurd gibberish put into the mouth of
an apocryphal " Gown-Cromb, or blacksmith of some village in
Badenoch." In a colloquy between an Athole man and the so-called
'* Gown-Cromb," the Athole man is represented as speaking the
most refined Saxon, while the Badenoch "Gown" is represented as
holding forth in the most incongruous Highland-English, alter the
following fashion : —

" Hout-tout ! ye're a true Sassenach, an' the like o' ye chiels aye
ca' liftin' stealin', which is na joost Christian-like."

" Well, what would you give for such bonny braes, and birks,

1 I am indebted to a learned and courteous correspondent of the Northern
Chronicle for directing my attention to this work.

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 209

and rivers as are in the forest of Athole, if they could be trans-
ferred to your wild country V

"And are there nae bonny braes and birks in Badenoch 1
Ye're joost as bad as our minister ; but fat need the man say ony
tiling mair aboot the matter, fan I tell 'im that I'll prove, frae his
uin Bible, ony day he likes, that the Liosmor, as we ca' the great
garden in Gaelic, stood in its day joost far the Muir o' Badenoch
lies noo, an' in nae ither place aneth the sun ; isna there an island
in the Loch Lhinne that bears the name o' the Liosmor to this
blessed day ? Fan I tell you that, an' that I hae seen the island
mysel, fa can doot my word?"

" But, Mac, the Bible says the garden was planted eastward,
in Eden."

" Hout ! aye ; but that disna say but the garden micht be in
Badenoch ! for Eden is a Gaelic word for a river, an' am shaire
there's nae want o' them there ; an' as for its bein' east o'er, that
is, when Adam planted the Liosmor, he sat in a bonny bothan on
a brae in Lochaber, an' nae doot lukit eastwar' to Badenoch, an'
saw a'thing sproutin' an grovvin' atween 'im an' the sun, fan it cam'
ripplin' o'er the braes frae Athole in the braw simmer mornings."

" But, Mac, the Bible further says, they took fig leaves and
nri-lo themselves aprons; you cannot say that figs ever grew in
Badenoch."

" Hout-tout ! there's naebody can tell fat grew in Badenoch i'
the days of the Liosmor; an' altho' nae figs grow noo, there's
mony a bonny fiacj runs yet o'er the braes o' both Badenoch and
Lochaber. It was flag's skins, an' no fig blades that they made
clae^ o'. Fiag, I maun tell you, is Lochaber Gaelic for a deer to
this day ; an' fan the auld guidman was getting his repreef for
takiu' an apple frae the guidwife, a' the beasties in Liosmor cam'
roon them, an' among the rest twa bonny raes ; an' fan the guid-
maii said — * See hoo miserable we twa are left ; there stands a' the
bonny beasties weel clad in their ain hair, an' here we stand shame-
faced and nakit ' — aweel, fan the twa raes heard that, they lap oot
o' their skins, for very love to their sufferin' maister, as any true
clansman wad do to this day. Fan the guidman saw this, he drew
ae fiag's skin on her nainsel', an' the tither o'er the guidwife.
Noo, let me tell ye, thae were the first kilts in the world."

" By this account, Mac, our first parents spoke Gaelic."

"An' fat ither had they to spake, tell me? Our minister says
they spoke Hebrew ; and fat's Hebrew but Gaelic, the warst o'
Gaelic, let alane Welsh Gaelic."

"Well done, Mac, success to you and your Gaelic."

14

210 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

1 he following account of the Old Badenoch forests is exactly ae
given in Old Biallid's MSS., the spelling simply of the names of
places in a few instances being modernized : —

The Earls of Huntly possessed by far the most extensive range
of Hills, as Deer Forests, in Britain. They commenced at Ben-
Avon in Banffshire, and terminated at Ben-Nevis near Fort -William
• — a distance of about seventy miles — without a break, except the
small estate of Rothiemurchus, which is scarcely two miles in
breadth where it intersects the Forest. This immense tract of land
was divided into seven distinct divisions, each of which was given
in charge of the most influential gentleman in its neighbourhood.
The names of these divisions or Forests are — 1st, Ben-Avon ; 2nd,
Glenniore, including Cairngorm ; 3rd, Brae-Feshie ; 4th, Gaick ;
5th, Drumuachdar ; 6th, Ben-Alder, including Farron ; and
7th, Lochtreig, which extended from the Badenoch March
to Ben-Nevis. The extent of these divisions was nearly
as follows : — Ben-Avon about 20 square miles, Glenniore 20,
Brae-Feshie 15, Gaick 30, Drumuachdar 25, Ben-Alder 50,
and Lochtreig 60 square miles — in all, 220 square miles.
The whole, however, were not solely appropriated for the rearing
of deer, for tenants were allowed to erect shealings on the confines
of the forest, and their cattle were permitted to pasture as far as
they chose throughout the day, but they must be brought back
to the shealing in the evening, and such as were left in the forest
over night were liable to be poinded. These regulations did very
well between Huntly and his tenants, but they opened a door for
small proprietors, who held in feu from the Gordon family, to make
encroachments, and in the course of time to acquire a property
to which they had not the smallest title. The old forest laws in
Scotland were exceedingly severe, if not barbarous. Mutilation
and even death was sometimes inflicted. It is related that
Macdonald of Keppoch hanged one of his own clan to appease
Cluny Macpherson of the time for depredations committed in the
forest of Ben-Alder, and it is a well-known fact that another
hunter, called John Our, had an eye put out and his right arm
amputated for a similar offence. ft is also said that he killed
deer even in that mutilated state. No alteration took place until
after the rising of 1745, when the whole were let as grazings
except Gaick, which the Duke of Gordon continued as a deer
forest until about the year 1788, when it was let as a sheep walk,
and continued so until 1826, when the late Duke of Gordon (then
Marquis of Huntly) re-established it. It is now rented by Sir
Joseph Radcliff, but as he takes in black cattle to graze in summer,

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 211

the number of deer is not great, perhaps not more than two or
three hundred. The deer in this forest are small, and are
principally hinds, but in all the other named forests it was not
uncommon to kill harts that weighed twenty -four and even twenty-
seven imperial stones.

The forest of Ben-Alder is now rented by the Marquis of
Abercorn, but as the sheep were only turned off in 1836, there are
not many deer as yet ; however, as the Marquis of Breadalbane's
forest is not far distant, they will no doubt accumulate rapidly.
This forest lies on the north-west side of Locherrichd, and contains
an area of from 30 to 35 square miles. Its lie is in a south-west
direction. The boundary on the south-west is the small Iviver
Alder, on the north-west, Beallachnadui (the dark vale), and the
lliver Caalrath, and on the north-east it is bounded by Lochpattag
and Farron. The mountains are high, probably near 4000 feet
above the level of the sea, and there is a lake about two miles in
circumference, at an elevation of at least 2500 feet, abounding
with trout of excellent quality. It is called Loch Beallach-a-Bliea.
The legends connected with this forest are many, and some of
them are interesting, for in Ben-Alder is the cave that sheltered
Prince Charlie for about three months after he made his escape
from the islands where he very imprudently entangled himself.
When he came to Ben-Alder he was in a most deplorable state,
full of rags, vermin, <fcc., &c., but there everything was put to
rights, and during that period he made considerable progress in
the Gaelic language. It is unnecessary to add that Cluny Mac-
pherson and Lochiel were his companions, attended by three or
four trusty Highlanders, who brought him every necessary, and
many of the luxurys of life.

Cluny Macphersoh had generally the charge of this forest in
olden times, and upon one occasion a nephew of his (a young
man) met a party of the Macgregors of Raunoch on a hunting
excursion. There were six of them, but Macpherson having a
stronger party, demanded their arms. To this the Macgregor
leader consented, except his own arms, which he declared should
not be given to any man except Cluny personally. Macpherson,
however, persisted in disarming the whole, and in the attempt to
seize Macgregor, was shot dead upon the spot. The Macgregors
of course fled, and effected their escape except one that was
wounded in the leg, and who died through loss of blood. This
unlucky circumstance, however, was not attended with any farther
bad consequences. On the contrary, it had the effect of renewing
an ancient treaty between the two clans for mutual protection

212 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

and support. When Cluny Macpherson resolved on going to-
France on account of the share he had in the Rising of 1745, he
called upon a gentleman with whom he was intimate, and who
was a noted deer-stalker (Mr Macdonald of Tulloch), and said that
he wished to kill one deer before quitting his native country for
ever. The proposal was quite agreeable to Macdonald, and they
accordingly proceeded to Ben-Alder. They soon discovered a
solitary hart on the top of a mountain, but just as they got within
shot of him, he started off at full gallop for about two miles. He
then stood for a few minutes as if considering whether he had had
any real cause of alarm, and then deliberately walked back to the
very spot from where he first started, and was shot dead by Cluny,
a circumstance that was considered a good omen, and which was
certainly not falsified by future events. Mr Macpherson of
Breakachy had the charge of this forest at one period. He went
upon one occasion, accompanied by a servant, in quest of venison,.
and in the course of their travel they found a wolf-den (an animal
very common in the Highlands at that time). Macpherson asked
his servant whether he preferred going into the den and destroy-
ing the cubs, or to remain outside and guard against an attack
from the old ones. The servant said he wculd remain without,
but no sooner did he see the dam approaching than he took to his
heels, without even advising his master of the danger. Mac-
pherson, however, being an active man, and expert at his weapons^
killed the old wolf also, and, on coming out of the den, he saw
the servant about a mile off, when he beckoned to him, and
without hardly making any remark upon his cowardly conduct,
said that as it was now late he intended to remain that night in
a bothy (Dalinlineart) at a little distance from them. They
accordingly proceeded to that bothy, and it was quite dark when
they reached it. Macpherson, on puting his hand on the bed to-
procure heather for lighting a fire, discovered a dead .body, and
without taking any notice of the circumstance, he said — I don't
like this bothy, we shall proceed to such a one about a mile off
(Callag), where we shall be better accommodated. They accord-
ingly proceeded to the other bothy, and on arriving there
Macpherson, pretending that he left his powder-horn in the
first-mentioned bothy, desired the servant to go and fetch it, and
said that he would find it in the bed. The servant did as he was
desired, but instead of the powder-horn he found a dead man in
the bed, which, to one of his poor nerves, was a terrible shock.
He therefore hurried back in great agitation, and on reaching the
second bothy, to his dismay, found it dark and empty, his master

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 213

having set off home as soon as the servant set out for the powder-
horn. Terrified beyond measure at this second disappointment,
he proceeded home, a distance of twelve miles of a dreary hill,
which he reached early in the morning, but the fright had nearly
cost him his life, for he fevered, and was many weeks before he
recovered. This Macpherson of Breakachy was commonly called
Cat I am bee/ (little Malcolm), and there is reason to believe that he
was one of those who fought the famous Battle of Perth in the
reign of King Robert the Third.

Two children of tender age strayed from a neighbouring sheil-
ing, and were found after a lapse of many days in Ben-Alder,
locked in each other's arms. They were dead, of course, and the
place is still called the affectionate children's hollow. It is con-
fidently asserted that a white hind continued to be seen in Ben-
Alder for two hundred years.

Gaick. — There are many circumstances connected with this
forest that give it an interest. Its lie is in a south-west direction,
bounded on the south by the Braes of Athole, on the north by
Glentromie, on the east by Corry Bran, and on the west by the
Glentruim Hills. In the centre of Gaick there is a plain of about
eight miles long, and in this plain there are three lakes — Loch-
an-t-Seillich, Loch Vrotain, and Loch-an-Duin, all abounding with
excellent trout and char, and another species of fish called dorman
by the country people. This fish called dorman is large, with a
very big head, and is believed to prevent salmon from ascending
into the lakes. Some of them weigh from twenty to thirty
pounds. The hills on each side of this flat are remarkably steep,
with very little rock, and of considerable height, and in the south
end there is a hill of a very striking appearance. Its length is
about a mile. Its height is at least 1000 feet above the plain,
and its shape is that of a house. This hill is called the Donne,
and is the southern boundary of the forest. It was in Gaick that
Walter Comyn was killed by a fall from his horse. He was pro-
bably a son of one of the Comyns of Badenoch, and certainly a
very profligate young fellow. Tradition says that he determined
on causing a number of young women to shear, stark naked, on
the farm "f Ruthven, which was the residence of the Comyns in
Badeuoch. He was, however, called on business to Athole, and
the day of his return was fixed for the infamous exhibition. The
day at last arrived, but instead of Walter, his horse made his
appearance, with one of his master's legs in the stirrup. Search
was of course made instantly, and the mangled body was found
with two eagles feeding upon it, and although nothing could be

2U Gaelic Society of Inverness.

more natural than that birds of prey should feed upon any dead
carcass, yet the whole was ascribed to witchcraft, and the two
eagles were firmly believed to be the mothers of two of the girls
intended for the shearing exhibition. The place where Walter
was killed is called Leim-nam-fian, or the Fingalian's leap, and a
terrible break-neck path it is. The fate of Walter is still
proverbial in the Highlands, and when any of the lower orders
are very much excited without the power of revenge — "May the
fate of Walter in Gaick overtake you " — is not an uncommon
expression. Stories of witches and fairies connected with Gaick
are numberless, but the following two may serve as specimens.
A noted stalker was one morning early in the forest, and
observing some deer at a distance, he stalked till he came
pretty near them, but not altogether within shot, and on look-
ing over a knoll he was astonished to see a number of little
neat women dressed in green milking the hinds. These he knew
at once to be fairies, and one of them had a hank of green yarn
thrown over her shoulder, and when in the act of milking the deer
the animal made a grab at the yarn with its mouth, and swallowed
it. The fairy, in apparent rage, struck the hind with the bond
with which she had its hind legs tied, saying at the same time,,
may a dart from Murdoch's quiver pierce your side before night.
Murdoch was the person listening, from which it may be inferred
that the fairies were well acquainted with his dexterity at deer
killing, in the course of that same day Murdoch killed a hind,
and on taking out the entrails he found the identical green hank
that he saw the deer swallow in the morning. It is said that it
was preserved for a long period as a very great curiosity, and no
wonder, for it would make a most valuable acquisition to one of
our museums, had it been preserved till now. Upon another
occasion the same person \vas in the forest, and having got within
shot of a hind on the hill called the Doime, he took aim, but when
ready to fire, he observed that it was a young woman that was
before him. He immediately took down his gun, and then it was
a deer. He took aim again, and then it was a woman, but when
the gun was lowered it became a deer. At last he fired, and the
deer fell in the actual shape of a deer. No sooner had he slain
the hind than he was overpowered with sleep, and having rolled
himself in his plaid, he laid himself down in the heather. His
repose, however, was not of long duration, for in a few minutes a
loud cry was thundered in his ear, saying — " Murdoch ! Murdoch !
You have this day slain the only maid of the Doune," upon which
Murdoch started up and replied — " If I have killed her, you may

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 215

eat her," and immediately quitted the forest as fast as his legs
could carry him. It may be remarked that this man was com-
monly called Murrach Machian or Murdoch the Son of John. His
real name, however, was Macpherson. He had a son that took
holy orders, got a living 'in Ireland, and it is said that the late
celebrated Mr Sheridan descended from a daughter of his. The
most extraordinary superstition, however, was that of the belief in
a Leannan Shith, or a fairy sweetheart, and all inveterate deer
stalkers, that remained for nights and even weeks in the mountains,
were understood to have formed such a connection. In these cases
the earthly wife was considered to be in great danger from the
machinations of the fairy mistress. The forest of Gaick has also
acquired notoriety from a melancholy event that happened in the
year 1800. A Captain John Macpherson with four attendants,
and several fine grey hounds, were killed by an avalanche. The
house in which they slept (a strong one), was swept from the very
foundation, and part of the roof carried to the distance of a mile.
This catastrophe also was ascribed to supernatural agency, and a
great deal of exaggeration and nonsense were circulated in con-
sequence, to the annoyance of Captain Macpherson's family and
friends.

The principal quality required in a deer stalker is patience,
and a capability of enduring fatigue as well as all kinds of priva-
tions. No animal is more wary than a deer, particularly the hinds.
It is not enough that the stalker is concealed from their sight, but
he must also pay particular attention to the wind, for they scent
at a very considerable distance. They will also discover their
enemy by the notes of the lark, and the singing of various other
little birds, so that it requires great caution and experience to
become an expert stalker. The old stag greyhound is now nearly
extinct, if not wholly so. It was an animal of great size, strength,
and symmetry, with long wiry hair, and exceedingly gentle until
roused. Its speed was great and far beyond that of the common
greyhound, particularly at a long run and on rough ground.

II. THE OLD CAVE OF RAITTS IN BADENOCH.

The distinguished philosopher, Sir David Brewster (the son-in-
law of the translator of Ossian's poems), while resident at Belle-
ville in 1835, made a careful exploration of this remarkable cave,
and in a communication to the Society of Antiquaries in 1863
(when he was I'rincipal of the University of Edinburgh) he thus
describes it : —

"This cave is situated 011 the brow of a rising ground in the
village of Raits, on the estate of Belleville. It is about 2 miles

216 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

from Kmgussie, and about half a mile to the north of the great
road from Perth to Inverness. In 1835, when it was first pointed
out to me, it was filled with stones and rubbish taken from the
neighbouring grounds. Upon removing the rubbish, I was
surprised to find a long subterraneous building with its sides faced
with stones, and roofed in by gradually contracting the side walls
and joining them with very large flattish stones. The form of
the cave was that of a horse shoe. Its convex side was turned to
the south, and the entrance to it was at the middle of this side by
means of two stone steps, and a passage of some length. The part
of the cave to the left hand was a separate apartment with a door.
A lock of an unusual form, almost destroyed by rust, was found
among the rubbish. The formation of the roof by the gradual
contraction of the side walls is shown in the drawing. There is
no tradition among the people respecting the history of this cave,
and, so far as I know, it had not been previously noticed."

In stating that there was 110 tradition among the people at
the time regarding the cave, Sir David must, have been mis-
informed. " Old Biallid's " account of it appears to have been
written prior to 1835, and in a quaint diary in my possession,
which belonged to the Rev. William Blair, who was minister of
Kingussie from 1724 to 1786, there is the following reference to
the cave in a description of a journey from Edinburgh to
Inverness : —

" We visited the cave of Clan Ichilnew, which is not far from
the side of the high road. We descended into it and found the
greater part of it fallen in, and could only perceive a dark hole
through which we could not see the further end. The stones that
support the roof are of an enormous size — in length about twelve
feet. The accounts given of this subteraneon mansion are various.
The people there give this account — That in primitive ages when
anarchy prevailed throughout the Island, the country was infested
with men of a gigantic stature, who had often made fruitless
attempts to conquer the Island. Being repulsed at a time when
they made their last and most formidable attack, such as were not
either killed in the feight or escaped by sea fled into the
mountains, and being closely pursued by the enemy untill night
stopt the pursuit, they advanced as far as the Spay, and in a night's
time finished the said cave, and lived there for some time, till by
the continued searches of the conquerors they were at last dis-
covered, and every man killed."

The cave was well known to the old natives of Badenoch under
the name of An Uaighe Mhor, i.e., The Big Cave, and is now

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 217

known in the district as The Robbers' Cave. Learned
.antiquarians who have examined it within the last few years have
expressed the opinion that it is of Pictish origin, and of much
•older date than common tradition assigns to it. Here is " Old
Biallid's " account of it under the title of

The Macniveris Cave. — This artificial cave is on the farm of
Raitts, in Badenoch, and is still nearly entire. Its history is as
follows : — When the Clan Chattan lost their patrimony in Lochaber
by the marriage of the heiress of the clan t? the son of the Thane
of Fife, the Macphersons who opposed the pretensions of the
husband to the chieftainship were gradually expelled their posses-
sions, and found an asylum in Badenoch, then occupied by the
Macnivens as vassals of Comyn, Earl of Badenoch. The emigration
from Lochaber continued for several years, but it was not until
the restoration of Robert Bruce and the downfall of the Comyns
that the chief of the Macphersons made a purchase of the lands of
•Cluny, (fee., and came to reside there. In consequence of that
event the Macnivens became alarmed, and took every opportunity
of insulting Cluuy, who was not then sufficiently strong to resent
or punish their conduct. An occurrence, however, happened
which brought matters to a crisis. The Chief of the
Macnivens, who was Cluny's next neighbour, poinded his
cattle, and as there was much bad blood between the parties,
it was considered dangerous that the men should come in contact.
It was therefore resolved to send Cluny's daughter to relieve the
cattle, but instead of paying that deference due to the rank and
sex of the young lady, she was treated in the most brutal manner,
her petticoats were cut off, and in that state she was sent home to
her family. The cattle were also sent home, but the bull's tongue
was cut out, which, in these times, was considered as a direct
challenge. Such a gross outrage could not but inflame the Mac-
phersons to the highest pitch, and as they were not equal to their
adversaries in point of numbers, one called Allaster Caint (that is
— Peevish Sandy)— collected a band of one hundred resolute
men, with whom he set out at night, and before the sun rose next
morning there was not a living male Macniven in the lordship of
Badenoch, except eighteen that continued to conceal themselves
in the woods of Raitts. These men managed to elude the
vengeance of Allayer Caint until they constructed a cave under
the floor of their dwelling-house, and which they did with such
skill and secrecy that they were enabled to keep possession of the
place for several years. They slept securely in the cave at night,
and in the day-time they kept so good a look-out that their enemies

218 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

could never get them in their power, until the cave was discovered
by the following stratagem : —

Allaster Caint concealed himself under pretence of sickness,
until his beard grew to a great length. He then disguised himself
in the habit of a beggar, and came in that character to the house
of the Macnivens late in the evening, when he was kindly treated
by the women, but refused lodgings for the night. He begged
hard to be allowed to remain, and when they attempted to remove
him by force he pretended to be afflicted with gravel, and uttered
such piercing shrieks that they had pity on him and allowed him
to lie at the fireside, where, after a great deal of mock moaning, he
pretended to fall sound asleep, and by this artifice discovered the
cave, for, believing him to be really asleep, the cave door was opened
to give the men their supper. He left the house early in the
morning, and in a few days thereafter he returned with a strong
party, and beheaded every one of the unfortunate Macnivens
upon the stump of a tree before the door. The most singular
circumstance connected with this tragic affair is that every one of
the descendants of Allasfcr Caint to this very day have been
afflicted with gravel.

III. THE BATTLE OF THE NORTH INCH OF PERTH.

There are a great many versions of this battle in circulation,
but none of them strictly correct. Tt was fought in the reign of
Robert the Third, and the belligerents were the Macphersons and
the Davidsons. George Buchanan says that it was fought between
the Clan Chattan and the Mackays, and he has been copied by
almost every individual that wrote on the subject ; but this is
evidently an error, for the Clan Chattan and the Mackays were at
such a distance from each other that it was almost impossible they
could come in contact. The substituting the Clan Chattan for
the Macphersons can hardly be called a mistake, for it is well
known that the Macphersons are the senior branch of that clan,
but the error with regard to the Mackays was owing to the
similarity of that name to Davidson in the Gaelic language (Mac-
kays, Clanickcaie, Davidsons, Clandai), and the grounds of the
quarrel were as follows : —

On the marriage of the heiress of Clan Chattan, although the
husband succeeded to the whole of her property, yet the bulk of
the clan refused to acknowledge him as chief. He therefore com-
menced upon a new foundation, and took the name of Mac-

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 219

kintoaskich (which signifies a beginner), a very applicable name
for one in his situation, and the modern definition attempted to
be given to it, as signifying first or foremost, is quite absurd, and
will be scouted by every unprejudiced person possessing a com-
petent knowledge of the Gaelic language. The ancestor of the
laird of Cluny (although admitted to be the senior branch in the
male line) also changed his name to Macmurdoch, and afterwards
to Macpherson, and both names are given to the clan indis-
criminately to this day. A third party took the name of Mac-
gillivray from their ancestor, and a fourth that of Davidson as
descendants of David dubh, who was brother to Macgillivray. and
both of them were the younger brothers of the ancestor of Cluny
Macpherson. Thus the Clan Chattan was all at once split into at
least four clans, and under circumstances as may be supposed
that left very little cordiality among them. Such as did not
adopt the name of Mackintosh were ejected from possessions, and
the Macphersons and Davidsons took possession of Badenoch on
the ruin of the Comyns. Mackintosh having admitted Camerons
in their place soon learned that he had to deal with refractory
tenants, and it was not long before his authority was set at
defiance. He was therefore obliged to have recourse to arms for
the recovery of his rents, but his own followers were quite
inadequate to the task, and he was compelled to implore the
assistance of the very clans his ancestors had expelled from their
ancient patrimony. Nor did he implore in vain, for although they
regretted that the clan estates should devolve on a stranger, and
felt indignant at their own expulsion, yet they considered (the
then) Mackintosh in some degree as their relation, and could not
stand by and see him trampled upon by a clan with whom they
had no connection whatever. The Macphersons and Davidsons
agreed to join him in his expedition to Lochaber, but Lochiel had
intimation of their plans, and resolved to anticipate them by
assembling his clan, and marching straight to Badenoch. By this
movement he would preserve his own country from the ravages of
war, and it is very probable that he had also in view to attack the
enemy in detail, and to overpower the Macphersons before they
could be joined by Mackintosh. In this, however, he was dis-
appointed, for Mackintosh wras in Badenoch before him, and await-
ing his arrival at Iiivernahaim, the place of Davidson the chief of
that branch of the Clan Chattan. When the Camerons made
their appearance, and the order of battle was about to be formed,
Cluny, as a matter of course, claimed the post of honour, and was
very much surprised to find his claim disputed by Davidson, and

220 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

still more so when Mackintosh pronounced in Davidson's favour,
and added that as the battle was to be fought on his (Mackintosh's)
account, none but Davidson should take the right. Upon this
Cluny indignantly marched off his men, and crossing the river
Spey below Craigdhu, they halted and stood on a small hill at the
river-side as unconcerned spectators. The battle was short but
bloody. Mackintosh was beaten with great slaughter. Davidson
and his seven sons were killed, and those that fled were -only saved
by crossing the >pey directly where the Macphersons stood, and
the Camerons did not consider it prudent to follow them. After
this the contention between the Davidsons, supported by Mac-
kintosh, and the Macphersons (with regard to precedency), was
carried on with such rancour and so much bloodshed as to attract
the notice of Government, and accordingly commissioners were
sent to endeavour to effect a conciliation. These commissioners,
finding that both parties were obstinate and bent on carrying their
point at whatever sacrifice, proposed that the dispute should be
settled by thirty men on each side — the fight to take place on the
North Inch of Perth, before umpires chosen by His Majesty, and
the combatants to use no other weapon but broad-swords. This
proposition was eagerly accepted by both parties, and the men
destined to be sacrificed appeared on the North Inch on the
appointed day. The result of the battle is well known. The
Davidsons were all killed except one who fled and swam across the
River Tay, and the Macphersons had nineteen killed. Tradition
ascribes the decided superiority of the Macphersons to the
extraordinary valour of the Gobhin Crom (or stooping Blacksmith)
whom they engaged as a substitute for one of their own men who
fell sick, and which was rendered necessary, as the Davidsons
refused to withdraw one of theirs.

IV. BATTLE OF GLENFRUIN.

In an account of this battle, which was fought in 1603, it is
stated that early in that year Allaster Macgregor of Glenstra,
followed by 400 men, chiefly of his own clan, but including also
some of the clans Cameron and Anverich (?) armed with " halber-
schois, pow-aixes, twa-handit swordis, bowis and arrowis, and with
hagbutis and pistoletis," advanced into the territory ot Luss.
Alexander Colquhoun, under his royal commission, granted the
year before, had raised a force which some writers state to have
amounted to 300 horse and 500 foot. In Sir William Fraser's
interesting work — The Chiefs of Colquhoun and their Country —

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 221

published in Edinburgh in 1869, the following description of the
battle is given : —

" On 7th February the Macgregors were in Glenfruin in two
divisions, one of them at the head of the Glen, and the other in
ambuscade near the farm of Strone, at a hollow or ravine* called the
Crate. The Colquhouns came into Glenfruin from the Luss side,
which is opposite Strone — probably by Glen Luss and Glen
Mackurn. .Alexander Colquhoun pushed on his forces in order to
get through the Glen before encountering the Macgregors ; but,
aware of his approach, Allaster Macgregoralso pushed forward one
division of his forces, and entered at the head of the Glen in time
to prevent his enemy from emerging from the upper end of the
Glen, whilst his brother, John Macgregor, with the division of his
clan which lay in ambuscade, by a detour, took the rear of the
Colquhouns, which prevented their retreat down the Glen without
fighting their way through that section of the Macgregors who had
got in their rear. The success of the stratagem, by which the
Colquhouns were thus placed between two fires, seems to be the
only way of accounting for the terrible slaughter of Colquhouns,
and the much less loss of the Macgregors. The Colquhouns soon
became unable to maintain their ground, and falling into a moss
at the farm of Auchingaich, they were thrown into disorder and
made a hasty and disorderly retreat, which proved even more
disastrous than the conflict, for they had to force their way through
the men led by John Macgregor, whilst they \\ere pressed behind
by Allaster, who, re-uniting the two divisions of his army,
continued the pursuit. All who fell into the victors' hands were
instantly slain, and the chief of the Colquhouns barely escaped with
his life after his horse had been killed under him. Of the
Colquhouns, 140 were slain and many more wounded, among them
a number of women and children."

Here is " Old Biallid's" account of the battle, written, it is
believed, about fifty years ago : —

It is rather singular that so little should be known of the
particulars of the Battle of Glenfruin and the causes that led to it,
when it is considered that it is comparatively of a late date,
having been fought between the Clan Gregor and the Colquhouns
in the reign of James the Sixth. No correct account has, however,
been published, from which it may be inferred that the true
history is lost among th'~! Macgregors, for every version of the
affair is more unfavourable for them than the facts would have
been. One account says that it was an accidental rencontre, and

222 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

another, that the Macgregors were treacherously waylaid by the
Colquhouns. These statements are both unfounded. The battle
was deliberately resolved upon, for it was fought in the heart of
the Colquhoun country, which of itself is a proof that it was not
an accidental rencontre. But what places the matter beyond
a doubt, is that Macgregor applied for, and obtained assist-
ance from the Clan Macpherson (with whom he had a treaty of
alliance, offensive and defensive), for the very purpose of invading
the Colquhouns. There were fifty picked men sent from Badenoch
to assist the Clan Gregor, but the action was over a few hours
before their arrival, which perhaps was rather a fortunate
circumstance, for had they taken part in the battle, it is
more than probable that they would also share in the proscription.
Another account states that the massacre of the boys was un-
intentional, that a house in which they took shelter was
accidentally set on fire. That the massacre of the boys was un-
intentional on the part of the Macgregors is very true, but «till it
was the deliberate act of one individual, and no doubt the Clan
Gregor were in a certain degree responsible for the conduct of that
individual, for although he was not of their name yet he was
under their banner at the time. He was a man, or rather a
monster, of the name of Cameron, and foster-brother to Mac-
gregor, who was sent to take charge of the boys in order to keep
them out of harms way, and strange and unnatural as it may
appear, he massacred the whole of them to the number of forty —
some say sixty. The origin of the quarrel with the Colquhouns
was as follows : — A party of twelve Macgregors entered the
Colquhouu country in quest of stolen or strayed cattle, and in a
dreadful stormy night came to a sequestered farmhouse, the land-
lord of which refused them admittance, although it was quite
evident that they must perish in the event of attempting to reach
any other inhabited place. They, however, acted with extra-
ordinary temper and forbearance, for in place of using force
(which under the circumstances would be quite justifiable) they
merely took possession of an outhouse, where they lighted a fire,
and having in vain applied for provisions, for which they offered
payment, they had no alternative but to take a sheep from the
•churl's flock, which they killed, and handed its value in at a
window. Having thus provided themselves with food, they were
sitting round a large fire and broiling the mutton, when the
savage landlord stole quietly to the top of the house, and dropped
a large stone into the fire through the vent hole, which burnt
•several of the Macgregors severely. One of them, smarting with

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 223

pain, made a spring to the door, and when the landlord was in
the act of descending from the house he shot him dead. After
this accident (for it cannot be called by any other name) the Mac-
gregors returned home, but the Colquhouns having seized several
of that clan (who were on their own lawful business and knew
nothing of the other affair), they hanged them like so many dogs.
So gross an outrage could not be overlooked, but still the Mac-
gregors acted with the greatest coolness, and sent a regular
embassy to demand satisfaction, but every proposition was rejected
by the Colquhouns, and after much negotiation Macgregor
intimated to Colquhoun of Luss that he must hold him and his
whole clan responsible for the slaughter of the Macgregors, and he
accordingly prepared to put ' his threat in execution. The Clan
Gregor entered the Colquhoun country with fire and sword, and
when they came to Glenfruin, and in sight of the enemy, they
fell in with a number of boys who came out from Dumbarton to
see the fight. They were principally schoolboys, and many of
them of good families that probably had no connection whatever
with either of the belligerents. Macgregor, in order to keep them
out of harms way, directed that the boys should be confined in a
church or meeting-house that happened to be close by, and sent
his foster-brother (one of the name of Cameron) to take charge of
them, who, from what motive it is impossible to divine, massacred
the whole of them as soon as he found the armies engaged. The
battle of Glenfruin was soon over. The Colquhouns were defeated
with great slaughter. Their chief was killed, and the Macgregors
scarcely lost a man. When they returned from the pursuit Mac-
gregor's first enquiry was for the boys, whom he intended to
liberate and dismiss with kindness, but learning the horrid fact
that they were all butchered, he struck his forehead and exclaimed
—"The battle is lost after all." The fate of the Dumbarton
scholars was so very revolting to the feelings of every person
possessing any share of humanity that it is no wonder that it
created a deep and powerful prejudice against the Clan Gregor,
and yet they were, at least, morally innocent, and it must forever
be a matter of regret that such heavy calamities should be heaped
upon the bravest clan in the Highlands for the act of one mad-
man. The Clan Gregor, however, were doomed to be unfortunate,
as will appear by continuing their history a little farther. Gregor
Our, or Gregor the Swarthy, was the second in rank to the chief,
but in deeds of arms he had no superior nor perhaps an equal in
all the Highlands. Arg}7le was his maternal uncle, and his valour
in defence of his clan and country when outlawed and assailed by
multitudes of foes, would appear more like romance than real

224 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

facts. After varioas desperate actions in which the Clan Gregor
displayed incredible prowess, but which considerably reduced their
number, they learned with amazement that Argyle, at the head of
an overwhelming force, was advancing to attack them. Upon the
receipt of this intelligence Gregor Our proposed to stop his uncle's
progress, and having communicated his plan to his chief he set
out alone and in disguise. After several narrow escapes he
succeeded in making his way into Argyle's tent at midnight (by
telling the sentry that he was the bearer of despatches from
Government, the delivery of which admitted of no delay), and
after upbraiding him for his cruelty and injustice, told him plainly
that his life was forfeited unless he instantly agreed to relinquish the
expedition. Argyle knew the determined character of his nephew,
and it is also possible that he might be influenced by affection to-
wards a relative of whom he might very justly be proud, but be his
motives what they may, he at once agreed to the proposed terms,
and conducted Gregor safely out of the camp, and soon after
disbanded his troops. Nor did his good offices cease there, for he
became an advocate of the Clan Gregor at Court, and obtained an
armistice for them as well as a protection to Gregor Our, with
instructions to him to appear before the Privy Council to
explain every circumstance relating to the battle of Glenfruin and
the massacre of the scholars. Gregor Our accordingly set out
for Edinburgh with the concurrence of his chief, but he was no
sooner gone than suspicions began to arise as to the purity of his
intentions. Dark hints were first thrown out, and afterwards
stated boldly as a fact, that Gregor, through the interest of his
uncle and his own address, had obtained a royal grant of the
chieftainship, as well as of the estates of Macgregor for himself.
By these insinuations and reports (which no doubt had great
plausibility in them) Macgregor was driven to a state of absolute
distraction, and having learned that Gregor Our was on his way
back from Edinburgh, he went to meet him, and without the least
enquiry or explanation, shot him through the heart with a pistol.
On examining his papers it was discovered that there was not a
vestige of truth in these reports. The pardon to the Clan Gregor
\vas addressed to Macgregor. His estates were restored to himself,
and Gregor Our did not secure a single benefit to himself but what
he got in common with every individual of the clan. This
discovery drove Macgregor to madness, and he actually became
deranged. The pardon was recalled, and the proscription was
enforced with greater rigour than before, nor is is at all surprising
that Argyle should become their bitter (as he was their most
powerful) enemy.

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 225

V. BATTLE OF BLARLEINE.

The battle of Blarleine was fought between the Macdonalds of
Clan Ranald and the Erasers about the year 1545. The cause of
it was this : — Clan Ranald married a daughter of Lovat, and in
less than two years died, leaving only an infant son (Ranald), who
was brought up and educated at Beaufort with his grandfather,
from which circumstance he received the nickname of Ranald
Gauld (or low country Ranald), from the Macdonalds. When
Ranald became of age he went to take possession of his patrimony,
and was received with great rejoicings. Bonfires were lighted on
every hill, and beef and mutton were killed and roasted in dozens,
but unfortunately Ranald Gauld spoke contemptuously of these
preparations, and declared publicly that he would rather dine
upon a broiled chicken than on all the coarse fare they had pre-
pared, which he considered downright waste. Upon this un-
fortunate declaration the clan had a consultation, and unanimously
agreed to eject him from his patrimony, which they did without
the least ceremony, and elected his uncle, John Mudardach, in
his place, who was a natural son. Lovat of course made every
exertion to reinstate his grandson, and with the assistance of
Huntly entered the Clan Ranald country with such an over-
whelming force that the rebellious Macdonalds durst not oppose
them. Ranald Gauld was therefore restored, apparently, without
opposition, but no sooner had Huntly and his forces departed than
John Mudardach assembled the whole of Clan Ranald and attacked
the Frasers. The battle was long and bloody, and it would have
been very doubtful to which side the victory would lean, were it
not for the treachery or cowardice of a Benjamin Clark, whom
Lovat sent with one hundred men to guard a particular pass, and
who fled without fighting a stroke. This circumstance ruined the
Frasers. Lovat fell, and Ranald Gauld was killed after perform-
ing prodigies of valour, so much so that he was admitted by both
sides to be the first warrior in the field. When John Mudardach
assembled the clan for the purpose of attacking the Frasers, he
gave orders that none should be allowed to march against the
enemy except those whose beard was thick upon the chin. One
young man, however, disobeyed, and insisted on accompanying his
father. He was of a good family, and dressed so well as to be
conspicuous among the clan, which caused a number of jests to be
passed upon him, such as, how very interesting he would appear
when running away from the Frasers, and such like. To these

15

226 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

jests he made 110 reply, but when the battle commenced he proved
himself to be equal, if not superior, to the most celebrated
warriors of the clan. In the heat of the fight this young man
observed his father engaged with Ranald Gauld, and on the eve
of being cut in pieces. He therefore sprung to his assistance, but
he soon found that he was also overmatched, for he received a
severe cut on the head, and was forced to give ground. He there-
fore had recourse to an artifice, and called out to his antagonist,
"You are attacked from behind," upon which Ranald Gauld
turned round, and when in that position received a mortal blow.
By this time the battle was over, and the young warrior was so
weak from his wounds and loss of blood that he was carried to a
barn where many of the wounded were. He was stretched upon
a little heather and Ranald Gauld's sword by him, when a number
of his clansmen came into the barn, every one of whom claimed a
right to the sword as the conqueror of Ranald Gauld. The young
man listened to them for sometime, but at last, his patience being
exhausted, he addressed them in the following words : — " Gentle-
men, give up your boasting ; were that sword in the hand which
grasped it this morning, and in the same vigour, and this barn
crammed full of such as you, I would much rather enter the barn
at one end and go out at the other, sword in hand, than face that
sword." This rebuff silenced them, but it proved fatal to this
very superior young man, for, to the eternal disgrace of that clan,
they bribed the nurse to put a rusty nail into his brain when
dressing his wound, in consequence of which he died.

VI. JOHN ROY STEWART.

Colonel John Roy Stewart was an outlaw- like many others
after the Battle of Culloden. He was a native of Kincardine, in
Strathspey, where he was exceedingly popular, and a great
favourite with the Grarts, although they were opposed to the
Stewart interest. Notwithstanding the Colonel's popularity, there
was one Grant who undertook to apprehend him for the sake of
the bloodmoney offered by Government. This Grant ought to
have been a man of some consideration in Strathspey from his
ancestors and connections, but nevertheless he was known to be
far below par in point of intellect, and as to courage, he was con-
sidered, in the ring phrase, mere dunghill. He paraded through
Strathspey with a party of twenty-four men, some of whom joined
him because they were his sub-tenants, some because they had
nothing else to do ; but for the most part to make game of him,

Selections from MSS. of Late Captain Macpherson. 227

and perhaps one and all of them would give intimation to John
Roy if they thought him in danger from such a leader and such a
party. John Roy Stewart had no great cause to be alarmed,
although friends felt some indignation at even a show of
hostility to a man so universally beloved. Things went on in this
manner for sometime, to the amusement of some and the annoy-
ance of others, until a wag took a bet of a pint of whisky that he
would so frighten Grant as to make him cease tormenting John
Roy for ever. He therefore proceeded to Grant's house, and
having asked and obtained a private audience, he told him, with
great gravity, that he had information of great importance to
communicate ; that he knew where John Roy was to sleep that
night, and that he would conduct Grant and the party to the spot,
provided they gave him a share of the reward. This, of course,
was agreed to. The party assembled, and when the night became
dark, they set out armed and accoutered, the wag having
mentioned some sequestered dwelling at a considerable distance.
When they were drawing near to the place the leader began to
ask a great many questions — " Was he sure that John Roy would
be there ? Did he know if he had anybody with him? "for," he added,
" should he have a stronger force than ours, it would be madness in
us to attack him," to which the wag replied, " That John Roy
never had more than one or two along with him, and that it
would be a terrible disgrace if six-and-twenty would be afraid to
attack two or three men, however powerful and desperate they
might be." Grant then turned upon another tack. He began to
express apprehensions that the outlaw was not there, " for," said
he, " if we go to the house and not find him, it would put him no
his guard, and there will be less chance of getting hold of him on
a future period." " That is very true," replied the wag, " and, as
it is not known that I have joined your party, and therefore
will not be suspected, I shall go to the house and see, while
you remain here until I return and bring certain intelligence."
This plan was agreed to, and the waa; set out at a good pace until
he got out of sight, and then set himself down until a reasonable
period had expired in which he might perform the journey. He
then returned, and when he got to the party he began to caper
and dance, exclaiming in an undertone of voice — "Great news, my
lads ! glorious news ! what lucky dogs we are ! our fortunes are
made!" The leader now eagerly enquired what this good and
great news were, and if he had seen John Roy, to which he replied,
" Yes, I have, and what is still better, Cluny Macpherson is along
with him." "Cluny Macpherson!" exclaimed Grant. "Yes,

228 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Cluny Macpherson ! " replied the wag, " we shall be the richest
men in Strathspey — that is, the survivors of us !" He was then
questioned as to how many attendants there were, to which he
answered "that there were only four, but that they were the
largest and roughest fellows he had ever seen, and armed to the
very teeth." The whole party now began to suspect the drift of
their new associate, and eagerly demanded to be led on, saying
that such an opportunity of making their fortunes would never
again arise, to which the wag added — " Tis very true that at least
one half of us will be killed, but still so much the better for those
that live." Grant now began to show the most unequivocal
symptoms of terror, and proposed that they should wait till day-
light before they surrounded the house, but his tormentor declared
that Cluny and Stewart were never known to remain in their
quarters till daylight, and the whole party, as with one voice,
opposed the delay. At last the unfortunate Grant fell down in a
state of insensibility, and when he partly recovered it was found
necessary to wash him in the nearest stream before he was carried
home. The news of the expedition circulated like wildfire, and
continued to be the subject of conversation and jocular remark
throughout the district for many a long day.

2nd APRIL, 1890.

The paper for this evening was contributed by Mr Hector
Maclean, Islay, entitled " The Plots." Mr Maclean's paper was.
as follows : —

THE PICTS.

Much has been written about who the Picts were, and whence
they were. They were supposed by some to be Kelts, and by
others to be Scandinavians ; but persevering research has enabled
scientific inquirers to ascertain that they were neither the one nor
the other ; and that, through time, they amalgamated with Gaels
from Ireland on the west of North Britain, and with Brythons on
the south-east side. They and the Caledonii were kindred
peoples, if not quite the same ; but there is reason to think that
there was a large admixture of Gaels among the Caledonii in the
time of Tacitus. Calgacus is believed by scholars to be a better

The Plots. 229

reading than Galgacus. Now Calgach is an ancient Irish name
which points to a still older form Calcagos, which signifies swords-
man. At p. 9 of his " Iberian and Belgian influence in Britain,"
Mr Hyde Clarke states : — "Caledonia is by its termination shown
to be an Iberian name." At p. 4 ibid, he says : — " At a later
period during my investigations for Khita decipherment, the word
Nia comes out, a distinctive word for country, land. This we find
in Britannia, Hibernia, Sardinia, Hispania, Lusitania, Acquitama,
Mauritania, Tyrrhenia, Lucania, Sikania, Makedonia, Lakonia,
Messenia, Acarnania, Carmania, Armenia, Gerrnania, Paionia,
Albania, Babylonia, Hyrcania." Calydon in Greece would seem to
be a word akin to Caledonia. In Calydon there was a celebrated
boar hunt, in which the King Meleager killed the boar, according
to Greek mythological story ; and, according to Gaelic Feinnian
story, Diarmaid killed a fierce boar in Ireland or Hibernia,
according to Irish tradition ; and in Alban or Caledonia, according
to Highland ballads and legends.

As to the red hair and large limbs which Tacitus ascribes to
the Caledonians, whence he compared them to the Germans, it
may be said that red hair is of various hues corresponding to
different races — there is the light-red or yellow-red hair of the
Teutons ; the bright-red or orange-red hair of the Kelts ; and the
red hair of the colour of iron rust to be seen among the Caffres.
The Voguls, the same in race with the Magjars of Hungary, who
are black-haired, separated far apart from the latter in Asia, are
red-haired.

There was red hair in Ireland and in British Pictavia before
the Kelts appeared in these regions. It likely abounded among
the Fomorians who hailed from Africa, and the Children of Neim-
hidh, who succeeded the descendants of Partholon in Ireland.
The Scandinavians, in the eighth and ninth centuries, intermixed
largely with the Highland and Irish people, and in this comixture
there was increase of fair skin, fair hair, and large stature. Large
stature, white skin, and reddish hair abounded among the Amor-
ites of Palestine, the Philistines, and the Lybians of Northern
Africa. Of these latter were the Fomorians, who infested the
coasts of Ireland, and intermarried with the successive peoples who
held possession of that island. The Khabyles of Northern Africa,
who are tall, ruddy-haired, and white-skinned, are the descendants
of the ancient Libyans.

Professor Sayce says in his " The Hittites," pp. 15-17:— "If
the Egyptians have made the Hittites ugly, it was because they
were so in reality. The Amorites, on the contrary, were a tall and

230 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

handsome people. They are depicted with white skins, blue eyes,
and reddish hair, all the characteristics, in fact, of the white race.
Mr Petrie points out their resemblance to the Dardanians of Asia
Minor, who form an intermediate link between the white-skinned
tribes of the Greek seas and the fair-complexioned Libyans of
Northern Africa. The latter are still found in large numbers in
the mountainous regions which stretch eastward from Morocco,
and are usually known among the French under the name of
Kabyles. The traveller who first meets with them in Algeria
cannot fail to be struck by their likeness to a certain part of the
population of the British Isles. Their clear white-freckled skin,
their blue eyes, their golden-red hair, and tall stature, remind him
of the fair Kelts of an Irish village ; and when we find that their
skulls, which are of the so-called dolichocephalic or long-headed
type, are the same as the skulls discovered in the prehistoric crom-
lechs of the country they still inhabit, we may conclude that they
represent the modern descendants of the white-skinned Libyans of
the Egyptian monuments."

This freckled type of white-skinned, blue-eyed, and golden-red
hair abounds in the Highlands as well as in Ireland, and they are
to be distinguished on the one side from the orange-red-haired
Kelts, and on the other from the milk-white-skinned Scandinavian
type, which is never freckled. The former type owes its freckles
to a thin skin, which is more influenced by sun and atmosphere
than the thicker skinned Scandinavian type is, and has come down
to us. intermingling, at first, with pre-Keltic races, subsequently
with the Keltic race, and latterly with the Scandinavian type.
Further on, Professor Sayce tells us : — " Tallness of stature has
always been a distinguishing characteristic of the white race.
Hence it was that the Anakim, the Amorite inhabitants of Hebron,
seemed to the Hebrew spies to be as giants, while they themselves
were but ' as grasshoppers' by the side of them (Numb. xiii. 33).
After the Israelitish invasion, remnants of the Anakim were left
in Gaza and Askelon (Josh. xi. 22), and in the time of David
Goliath of Gath and his gigantic family were objects of dread to
their neighbours (2 Sam. xx. 15-22).

" It is clear, then, that the Amorites of Canaan belonged to the
same white race as the Libyans of Northern Africa, and like them
preferred the mountains to the hot plains and valleys below. The
Libyans themselves belonged to a race which can be traced through
the peninsula of Spain and the western side of France into the
British Isles. Now it is curious that wherever this particular
branch of the white race has extended, it has been accompanied by

The Plots. 231

a particular form of cromlech, or sepulchral chambers built of
large uncut stones. The stones are placed upright in the ground,
and covered over with large slabs, the whole chamber being subse-
quently concealed under a tumulus of small stones or earth. Not
unfrequeutly the entrance to the cromlech is approached by a sort
of corridor. These cromlechs are found in Britain, in France, in
Spain, in Northern Africa, and in Palestine, more especially on the
eastern side of the Jordan, and the skulls that have been exhumed
from them are the skulls of men of the dolichocephalous or long-
headed type." Ibid. p. 17.

The Nemetes were a nation of Germany at the west of the
Khioe ; the Nemetatse were, according to Ptolemy, a people of
Heispauia Tarraconensis ; Nemetobriga was a city of Hispania
Tarraconensis ; and Nemetacum was a town of Gaul. Now these
names correspond with Neimhidh, the progenitor of the Clanna
Neimheadh, the second colony that conquered Ireland, in accordance
with Irish legendary history ; and they follow each other in suc-
cession through Spain and France to the south-west of Germany,
and are connected, apparently, with the Children of Neimhidh in
Ireland. Fomhorach, " Seafarer," now contracted into Fomhor,
signifies a giant both in Ireland and Scotland ; in Argyllshire it is
fam/tair, and fuamhair in the North Highlands. In Nott and
Gliddon's Types of Manhood, the likenesses of the Tokkari on the
Egyptian monuments are considered, who were taken prisoners,
being invaders of Egypt by sea. They are compared with tall
men of irregular features seen in the Highlands of Scotland.

It is now agreed among ethnologists, and Professor Rhys has
lately expressed the same opinion in some of his lectures, that the
Picts are not so called because they painted or tattooed their
bodies. It was evidently a name by which they called them-
selves. The name Picti is, without doubt, cognate with Pictones
or Pictavi, an Aquitanian or Iberian people situated to the south
of the Loire. In the " Chronicle of the Scots," " Skene's
Chronicles of the Picts and Scots," p. 380, we have this passage : —
" And when Iber comme to eild Gayele send him in yat cuntre,
yat now is callet Irland, and fand it vakande but of a certainne of
Gewictis, ye quhilk he distroyt, and inhabyt yat land, and callit
eftir his modir Scota, Scotia." Gewichtis here is, without doubt,
from a Gaelic form Ciocht, into which, at a certain period, the
Gaels, when they could not pronounce p, substituted c for it, as
in the case with Caisg from the Latin " paschus," and clann,
" children," from the Latin " planta," whence the Welsh plant,
which means the same as clann. Mr Whitley Stokes has shown

232 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

conclusively that clann, like the Welsh plant, is from the Latin
" planta." The Gaels from Ireland who encountered the Romans,
for the first time, in the year 360 A.D., called themselves Scothi,
from which the Romans made Scoti, and called Ireland Scotia.
Scoth signifies " warrior" in old Gaelic (O'Davoren's Glossary,
p. 115). The name Crvithntack, a Pict, is formed by substituting
c for p; the Brythons or Old Britons converted Brittania into
Prydyn, and the Gaels transformed Prydain or Prydiu into
Cruithin ; and the country of the Picts being part of North
Britain, was designated in Gaelic Cruithin tuath. This explanation
is now accepted by Professor Rhys, and was first suggested by Dr
O'Brien, in his Irish-English Dictionary. From Cruithin is formed
Cruithneach, and it was specially applied to the Picts who settled
in Ireland from North Britain. It is now admitted by the most
learned inquirers into Pictish history that th*1 Picts were a pre-
Aryan and pre-Keltic people, who gradually and successively inter-
mingled with the Gaels and Brythons.

The names which are found in lists of the names of Pictish
kings offer a strong contrast to the names which occur in lists of
the names of Irish kings of the olden times. None of these ever
begins with the letter P ; in fact, the letter p is never found in
them, unless used for an unaspirated b. In the Pictish lists are
found " pant, urpant, nip, uruip," &c. The prefixed syllable ur,
contracted to u sometimes. What this prefixed ur meant is
explained in this passage — " Da Drest, id est, Drest filius Gyrom,
id est, Drest filius W drost V annis couregnaverunt. Drest filius
Girom solus V annis regnavit." Here are two of the name of
Drest who reign together five years, and Drest the son of Girom
after this reigned alone fiva years. Such names, therefore, as
urpant, urgant, urguith, urfecir, urcal, urcint, &c., in every case
preceded by names corresponding to the second parts of these
names, pant, gant, guith, fecir, cal, cint, &c., show that ur denotes
two or second, that is, two of a name either together or in suc-
cession. In Georgian ori denotes two ; in Chinese Nankin urh (ar)
is two ; in Chinese Pekin urh ; in Gyami, Chinese frontier, a'r.
(Hunter's Non-Aryan Languages of India and High Asia, p. 34.)
Brude is a name that frequently precedes other names of kings,
and it would seem to have signified high king or over king ; in one
list of the names of Pictish kings it occurs before other names
twenty-seven times. Owing to intermarriages between Picts and
Scots or Gaels, and also between them and Britons, Gaelic and
Brythonic names were introduced among them, and were strangely
altered ; thus Fergus became Urguist and Werguist ; Feradach
became Wredach, Aengus or Oengus became Hungus, &c.

The Picts. 233

Gaelic borrowed from Latin after Christianity had been intro-
duced into the British Isles, at a later period, during the invasions
and partial occupations of the Norsemen, during the eighth and
ninth centuries. The Scandinavians, besides contributing consider-
ably to both English and Gaelic vocabularies, left a large number of
place-names both in England and Scotland. They added stadr,
a " place," to contractions of the Gaelic names of three of the
Irish provinces — Leinster, Munster, Ulster — ster is a contraction
of stadr ; yet it is surprising that although they occupied large
tracts of Ireland, they left but few place-names there. (See
Joyce's Irish Names of Places). There are more Norse place-
names in the island of Islay alone than in the whole of Ireland.
As Gaelic has borrowed from the languages which subsequently
came in contact with it, there are good grounds for inferring that
it took loans from the Non- Aryan dialects which preceded it ; and
such loans are to be discovered in the oldest written Gaelic down
to the spoken Gaelic of the present day. At p. 245, "Transactions
of the Royal Historical Society," Dr Hyde Clarke, in his paper on
"The Picts and Pre-Celtic Britain," tells us — "In applying
William Von Humboldt's researches as to the Basques, it further
appeared that the Basque area, or that of the Iberians, would not in
his form meet the exigencies of the inquiry. This led me, in the
course of time, to the knowledge that the geographical names of
the ancient world, or more properly ancient atlas, are formed on
one plan. Rivers, mountains, islands, cities, and in some cases,
princes, are named after one system. It was further found by
me, as communicated to the Royal Historical Society, that the
ancient coins, called autonomous coins, commonly treated as purely
Greek, bear emblems which have relations to the names of places
to which they belong, and are to be assigned to an earlier epoch
than the Greek.

" Thus, without going further, and inquiring as to languages
and meanings, we are provided with a large body of material,
which we can use to test groups, and in some cases individuals.
For the general class, which covers the great epochs ol original
culture, I have in the east applied the name of Khita (by some
styled Hittite), and in the west the name of Iberian, but it must not
be imagined these are two divisions, or that the class can be
strictly denned. It must also be clearly understood, in conformity
with what is now more generally accepted than before, that there
were several languages in the epoch. As a general term, Iberian
is used in this paper as a general and convenient term only. On
examining the local names of these islands and towns, here recorded

234 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

by the Greek and Roman writers, it appeared that those which
were not absolutely and distinctly Celtic were Iberian. On this,
topic some papers have been read by me. Some remarks of mine
on the British coinage point in the same direction."

Mr Hyde Clarke says, with respect to the names of mountains,
islands, and rivers : — " The meaning of the words can very well
be made out ; it refers to the roundness or circular form, or self-
contained round or enclosure, which marks an island. This is the
reason for which names of allied meaning are represented on the
coins, as sun, moon, vase or pot, which are round, as was the ship
in its primitive shape. The tish was regarded as roimd, and other
animals found on island coins are the crab and tortoise.

" Island is the same idea or root as mountain, and hence the
names for islands and for mountains are the same. As rivers flow
from mountains, so are they of the same nomenclature
differentiated. Thus my first suggestion of the relation of the
names of Britannia and Hibernia was so far accurate ; but island
is not derived from river bur. from mountain, and river from moun-
tain."— " Iberian and Belgian Influence in Britain," p. 8.

So Albion is related to Alpes, to Alba, the mountainous part
of North Britain, to Albania, in Europe, and in Asia. The river-
name, Albis, now the Elbe, is akin to these ; Abula was the
ancient name of the river Tiber ; the river Tiber, at a flowing into
the Adriatic, is called Albulates by Pliny, and Albula by other
writers. Album was a promontory of Africa, and also of Phoenicia ;
Albubacis was a river of Gaul ; Albanus was a mountain sixteen
miles from Rome ; a mountain of Upper Pannonia, called A.lbius
by Strabo, now Auff der Alben ; Albanus, a river of Alban a, in
Asia, flowing into the Caspian Sea. Mr Hyde Clarke compares the
mountain Kratos and the river Bradanus with Britannia, and the
mountain Hebron and the river Hebrus with Hibernia. The Gaels
contracted Hibernia into Eire ; but the n is preserved in the geni-
tive and dative, £irenn and Erinn ; but the Welsh Iwerddon is
nearer the original. It is remarkable that two mountains in
Ireland were respectively named Alba and Eire. At p. 5, Vol. II.,
of Translation of "Cambrensis Eversus," by the Rev. Matthew
Kelly, St Patrick's College, Maynooth, we are told that " Laeghaire,
son of Niall, defeated the Lagenians, and received the Boromean
Tribute, but they rose against him once more, and having gained
a victory, compelled him to swear by the moon and the winds that
he would never more demand that odious tribute. In violation of
his oath he marches against them, but he was killed by" lightning,,
near Cassi, in Ui-Faelain, between the two mountains, Eire and

The Picts. 235

Alba, according to the ambiguous prophecy that he would be slain
between Eire and Alba, the Irish names of Ireland and Scotland.
A.D. 458."

In Ireland there is Inis Ereann, " Ireland's Eye," in which Eye
is from the Norse, and denotes island. The Gaelic name of the
island, Inis Ereann, is said to have been given to it for a woman
named Eire. Lough Erne (Eirne), in Ireland, corresponds in
name with Loch Earn, in Scotland ; and there is Strathearn, and
there is the river Earn, all in Perthshire ; there is Auldearn, in
Nairn shire. The river Fmdhorn is called in Gaelic Abhainn Eirne.
It is probable that there were mountainous tracts, both in Ireland
and Scotland, with which these streams and lakes were connected.
Banlha is an old name for Ireland, and Banff is the name of a town
in Scotland, which gives name to a county. The old form of the
name Banff, as it occurs in the Book of Deir, is " banb." Banbh
signifies pig in Gaelic, and Banbha, as a name for Ireland, and
Banbh, Banff are evidently derived from it. In each case it was
very likely a totem or mythological name, and the word is
evidently of pre-Keltic origin. Irish Legendary History tells us
that Banbha was a queen of Tuatha De Danann or Dedannian,
tribes who preceded the Irish Kelts or Gaels.

In considering the pre-Aryan tribes, in the northern part of
North Britain, mentioned by Ptolemy, it may be remarked that
long before the Aryans made their appearance throughout Europe,
Persia, or India, the Turanian race, from High Asia, migrated
south into Asia Minor, Babylonia, Susiana, Hindoostan, and
Further India. The Iberians, Kheta, or Hittites, who had come
first from the same region to Asia Minor and Syria, where they
founded an empire, moved westwards from Asia Minor and Syria
to Spain. People of the same race, from the neighbourhood of the
Altai mountains, moved westwards to Northern, Central, and
North- Western Europe.

The Iberians spoke numerous dialects, but certain words, such
as names for mountains, countries, islands, rivers, plains, water,
sky, sun, moon, day, night, light, darkness, man, woman, and
child, were common to many of them. The Aryan languages
which succeeded them, as was to be expected, took numerous loan-
words from them. The Hittites or Iberians were the oldest navi-
gators. Ptolemy, who flourished in the second century, copied
from the work of a Tyrian geographer, and the Tyrians, who were
Semites, received their seafaring knowledge from the Iberians,
who preceded them.

236 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

In "The Hittites," by Professor Sayce, p. 15, it is said, " The
Hittites were a people with yellow skins and 'Mongoloid' features,
whose receding foreheads, oblique eyes, and protruding upper jaws,
are represented as faithfully on their own monuments as they are
on those of Egypt, so that we cannot accuse the Egyptian artists
of caricaturing their enemies."

Equally ugly, no doubt, were the followers and soldiers of
Jenghis Khan, who conquered and made himself emperor of the
greatest part of Asia. As the Hittites intermingled and inter-
married with the handsome Amorites, the offspring proceeding
from the intermixture would likely be less harsh in features. The
fact is, they were a conquering race, and gener&lly intermixed with
the nations that they subdued.

At p. 101 of the same work, Professor Sayce says further of
them : — " They were short and thick of limb, and the front part
of their faces was pushed forward in a curious and somewhat
repulsive way. The forehead retreated, the cheek bones were
high, the nostrils were large, the upper lip protrusive. They had,
in fact, according to the craniologists, the characteristics of a
Mongoloid race. Like the Mongols, moreover, their skins were
yellow, and their eyes and hair were black."

At p. 136 ibid, we are informed that "The Hittites shone as
much in the arts of peace as in the arts of war. The very fact
that they invented a system of writing speaks highly for their
intellectual capacities. It has been granted to but few among the
races of mankind to devise means of communicating their thoughts
otherwise than by words ; most of the nations of the world have
been content to borrow from others not only the written characters
they use, but even the conception of writing itself."

" We know from the ruins of Boghaz Keui and Eyuk that the
Hittites were no mean architects. They understood thoroughly
the art of fortification ; the great moat outside the walls of
Boghaz Keui, with its sides of slippery stone, is a masterpiece in
this respect, like the fortified citadels within the city, to which
the besieged could retire when the outer wall was captured. The
well-cut blocks and sculptured slabs of which their palaces were
built, prove how well they knew the art of quarrying and fashion-
ing stone. The mines of Bulgar Dagh are an equally clear indica-
tion of their skill in mining and metallurgic work.

" The metallurgic fame of the Khalybes, who bordered on the
Hittite territory, and may have belonged to the same race, was
spread through the Greek world. They had the reputation of
first discovering how to harden iron into steel. It was from them,
at all events, that the Greeks acquired the art.

The Plots. 237

" Silver and copper appear, from the evidence of the Egyptian
and Assyrian monuments, to have been the metals most in request,
though gold and iron also figure among the objects which the
Hittites offered in tribute. The gold and copper were moulded
into cups and images of animals, and the copper was changed into
bronze by being mixed with tin. From whence the tin was pro-
cured we have yet to learn."

There is a strong probability in favour of the tin being brought
from Cornwall, in Britain. I have quoted the preceding to show
the relation of the names of the tribes of North Britain mentioned
by Ptolemy to non Aryan, Turanian, or Iberian names. Damnouii,
the Dannoni of the Ravenoa Geographer, who wrote an anonymous
work on geography, in the seventh century. This name corres-
ponds to Damnii, the name of an ancient Irish people, and also to
Tuatha De Danann, a ruling people in Ireland, according to Irish
legendary history, who immediately preceded the Kelts. At p. 12
of Hyde Clarke's "Iberian and Belgian Influence in Britain,"
Damiiii occurs in a list of names that signify man ; Ddimh, in
Gaelic denotes people, kindred. According to Captain Thomas's
paper " On the Ptolemaic Geography of Scotland," in the Proceed-
ings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, their territory
included the entire basins of the Forth, Clyde,, and perhaps the
Tay. Irish legend informs us that the Tuatha De Danann, before
going into Ireland, stayed for a length of time in Dobkar and
lardobar in Alban ; now dobhar denotes "water or boundary;"
and it is likely that Dobhar and lardobhar, in this case, signify
the Tay and the Clyde ; so that the territory, which legend tells
us was inhabited by the Tuatha De Danann, in Alban, exactly
corresponds to that which was occupied by the Damnonii. Creones
and Cerones occupied Lorn, Appin, and from Lochaber to the
Sound of Skye. Cer in these names is evidently cognate with
Karu, in Talain or Mon, Tenasserim ; with Kors, Kuri, Central
India. — Hunter's Non-Aryan Languages of India and High Asia,
p. 139. Gaelic, Gear, offspring, blood, Cearn, a "man."

Carnonacae. — These probably occupied the territory from the
Sound of Skye to Assynt. The Careni dwelt at Strathnavir. The
Cornavii were the inhabitants of modern Caithness. In England
the Carnavii occupied the lands between the Mersey and the Dee.
These names, as well as the Coutani of South Britain, and the
Coriondi of Ireland, correspond to names for man. (Hyde Clarke's
" Iberian and Belgian Influence and Epochs in Britain," p. 12).

Lugi. — The Lugi dwelt in Easter Ross and East Sutherland.
Leu denotes " man" in written and spoken Burman, and in Sak in

238 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Arrakan; and Lugi, consequently, is cognate, and means "men."
Gaelic Luan, a lad, a champion ; Ludn, a diminutive of Lu, a man ?
a son. Lucani, the name of *an ancient Irish people, is cognate
with Luigi.

Smertae. — In this name the S is evidently prosthetic. So it is
derived from Mertae. They dwelt about Loch Shin. Maro means
" man" in Lepcha, N.E. Bengal ; Mru denotes the same in Toung,
Arakan. Mart or murt signifies " men" in the Finnic languages,
and it is found in a very great number of the names of Finnic
tribes, such as the Mord-win and the Komi-murt. The name of a
Median tribe was Mardi, which denotes " Men." Gaelic Muireann,
a woman. Captain Thomas, R.N., in his paper on the " Ptolemaic
Geography of Scotland," remarks : — " Such is the description of the
distribution of the tribes or peoples in the north and west of Scot-
land in the second century, and to those who are acquainted with
the country it will appear to have all the character of truth.
That the coasts and glens were well peopled at an early period is
proved by Mr Anderson's very interesting map of the North of
Scotland, on which he has shown the site of seventy-nine Pictish
towers in Caithness, and sixty in the modern county of Suther-
land."

The Vacomagi. — These were to the eastward of the Caledonii.
They inhabited Murray, Strathspey, Badenoch, and Athol. The
second part of the name, coma, corresponds to Kami, a " man," in
Kami, Arrakan, and to Kumi, a "man," in Kumi, Arrakan.
Gaelic Com, kindred (Brehon Laws). From these comparisons it
may be inferred that Vacomagi is, like the preceding names, a
Turanian or Altaic name denoting "Men." Attention may be
directed to the second syllable, which is the accented one, thus
emphasising the part of the word which specially signifies man.

Venicones. — The Venicones were situated south-west of the
Vacomagi, and occupied the present counties of Forfar and Kin-
cardine. This name bears close resemblance to Venicnii, the name
of an ancient people in the north-west of Ireland. The last part
of this name, cones, corresponds to Siamese Khon, a " man ;" to
Ahom Kun ; Khamti Kim ; and Laos Khon — languages in Siam.
(Hunter's " Non-Aryan Languages of India and High Asia, p. 139).

Taezali, Taizaloi, Taxaloi. — This people inhabited the present
Aberdeenshire. The first part of this name, Taez, Taiz, or Tex,
may be equated with the old Gaelic word Tas, a dwelling (LI. Ar.
Br.), and the second part ali or aloi, with A'lt a " man," in Tamil,
Malayalma, Tuluva, Toduva, Toda ; with Alu, man, in Karnataka
and with A'le, "man" in K6ta; languages in Southern India. (Ibid.)

The Picts. 239

These are the principal names of the pre-Keltic tribes north of
the Firths of Forth and Clyde. The resemblance of the names to
names signifying man in India and Further India can only be
explained by migrations south, south-east, and south-west from
High Asia. These tribes united under the common name of Picti
against the Romans in the fourth century, and entered into an
alliance with the Scots.

Glenelg is an interesting place-name, of which the first part
Glen (gleann, a valley) is Keltic, and the second part, elg (eilg, gen.
of ealg) is pre-Keltic. Ealg is an old name for Ireland, which is
said to have been given to it by the Firbolgs. So in Keating's
"History of Ireland" we find: — "An treas ainm, Inis Ealga,
eadhon, oilen uasol ; oir as ionarm inis agus oilen, agus as ionanns,
ealga agus uasol : agus as re linn Fear m-Bolg fa gnath an t-ainm
sinn uirre."

" The third name was Inis-Ealga, that is, Noble Island ; for
' initj " and ' oilen ' (island) are equivalent, and ' ealga' and ' uasol'
{noble) are equivalent ; and it is during the time of the Firbolgs
that name was usually on it."

The oldest meaning of Ealg was not " Noble." The Gaelic
Ealg is no doubt cognate with the Basque Elge, a field • or culti-
vated plain ; and the old name of Ireland, Inis Ealga, evidently
signified " Island of cultivated plains." The Basque is a non- Aryan
language, and any words akin to Basque words in Gaelic must be
of pre-Keltic origin. Glenelg must have taken its name from the
ground about the village, which is arable and level. The extended
meaning " noble" would apply to the whole glen. The Scotch
Gaelic word Eilgheodh, "levelling a field for sowing; fallow
ground ; a first ploughing of land that requires a second, to pre-
pare it for seed," is evidently cognate with the name Ealg, and the
Basque Elge, " a cultivated plain "

Bolg in Fear-bolg signifies " man," and the preceding is a
Gaelic gloss on it. At p. 8 of " Notes on the Ligurians, Aquitanians,
and Belgians, by Hyde Clarke, F.R. Hist. Soc., it is said —

" The general name of Belgian, like that of Ligurian, is
recognisable. It is man as in other cases.

"We may enumerate — Belgae, Batavi, Eburones, Abades,
Verani.

" The conclusions to be drawn from facts conforming to general
historical data are of considerable interest.

" The Belgians in no general respect differed from the
inhabitants of pre-Celtic Gaul. The distinction drawn by Csesar
is consequent on the occupation of midland Gaul by the Arj-an

240 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

invaders, thus sundering the northern Iberians or Belgians from
the southern Iberians or Aquitanians, as also from the Ligurians.

" We find, also, that the district was settled with Iberian
cities, and that this occupation extended to the shores of the
North Sea, if not further, and even to the amber deposits.

" The origin of the Batavi is also decided, for it could not have
been Celtic or Germanic, though in after times the population was
affected by Germanic influences."

Bolg, then, is but a different form of Belgae, and the name is
pre-Keltic. Both Kelts and Germans had considerably inter-
mixed with the Belgae before Caesar's time, and the names of
some of the tribes are evidently Keltic. At page 276, " Celtic
Britain," Rhys asserts " That the derivation and meaning of this
word (Belgae) are unknown, but one thing is certain, neither the
people nor its name had anything whatever to do with the Irish
Ferbolgs." The learned professor, nevertheless, gives no reason
to confirm his assertion — it is evidently given ex cathedra. There
are place-names both in Ireland and Scotland to show that a
people called Bolg abounded in both countries ; there is Strath-
bolgie in Aberdeenshire ; Blatum Bulgium, mentioned in the
Antonine Itinerary, was not far from the river Annan in Scotland ;
there is Dunbolg in the county of Wicklow, and Murbolg in the
county of Antrim, in Ireland. The Ithians were a pre-Keltic
Irish people, and in " The Stem of the Line of Ith" O'Hart's Irish
Pedigrees, First Series, p. 80. two names occur of which Bolg
forms a part ; Sithbolg (Peaceman) and Each-Bolg (Horse-Man).

Sliocht Ir, the Progeny of Ir, were a pre-Keltic race, and much
the same as the Firbolgs, Picts, or Tuatha De Danann. Ir
means land or earth, and Clann Ir literally denotes " Children of
the Earth," so called by the Kelts who succeeded them " Lan in h
Erin do chlaind Ir" (full is Ireland of the Children of Ir). Mael-
mura of Othain says of them in the ninth century — " Ulster, from
the mouth of the Boyne to the Bay of Donegal, was almost
entirely Irian down to the second century. The Irians held
possession of Longford, the Queen's County, and part of West-
meath around Uisneach Hill in Leinster. They possessed the
greater part of Kerry, the west of Clare, and a tract around
Fermoy, in Munster ; and Connemara, with scattered tracts in
Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, Sligo, in Connaught."

On comparing the Irian territories with those of the native
Irish in the fourteenth century, it will be found that, with the
exception of East Leinster, they are almost identical. So this
very position of the Irian territories is a strong argument that the

The Picts. 241

Irians preceded tli3 Heremonians, by whom they were driven from
the more fertile and accessible parts of the island. Similarly, the
Dalriadic Scots, who were Heremonians, took the territory which
became the kingdom of Dalriada in Alban, and ultimately
conquered the Albanic Picts.

Irian topography leads to the conclusion that the race had, at
one time, possession of the largest part of the island — and that
conclusion is corroborated by two significant traditions, to wit, the
greater number of Irians, whose names are conspicuous in the lists
of Over -kings of Ireland, before Ugaine the Great, particularly
Ollamh Fodhla, and his seven Irian successors, the kings, if not
the founders of Tara, and, again, the partition of Ireland between
two Irian brothers, Kearmna and Tobharohe — a partition which is
supported by traditionary monumental evidence. The palaces of
both, at both ends of che island, are yet known by their names,
and pronounced the most ancient buildings in Ireland.

The ancient palace of Eamania was the largest of its kind in
Ireland. Its foundation, in A.C. 305, and its destruction, in A.D.
322, are epochs in the Irish annals. (See Cambrensis E versus —
Kelly's Edition, Vol I., p. 462-465). It was in a room of the palace
of Eamania, A1 chraohk Ruadh, " The Red Branch," that the young
heroes of Ulster were trained to feats of arms. These were called
" The Champions of the Red Branch," the most celebrated of whom
was Cuchulainn, who was as famous in legend and war-song in the
Scottish Highlands as he was in Ireland. According to the Irish
JVennius, the Irians were not brothers of Heremonians and Hebe-
rians, but Cruithne or Picts. The name Cruithne has been already
explained. The same writer calls the Irian Ollamh Fodhla and his
six Irian successors, the seven Pictish kings that ruled over Ireland.
The Kelts, both of Britain and Ireland, would seem to have come
first into Britain, as auxiliaries to some Iberian kings, and that
they played the same part to these as their brother Aryan Kelts
did to the Iberians of Gaul and Spain, as the Aryan Italians did to
the Etrurians and Ligurians, and as the Aryans in general did to
Greece, Armenia, Persia, and India. Originating as nomads,
according to Professor Schrader, in the south-west of Russia, they
spread over the world, and diffused their language wherever they
settled. The Saxons acted similarly towards the British Kelts at
a subsequent period. At a still later period the Normans subdued
the Saxons, and later still the Kelts of Ireland and those of Wales.
Scotland would have followed had not Robert Bruce's astuteness
circumvented Edward the First's vigorous and sagacious plans.
The oldest form of Eireamhon is Erim, the eponym of the most

16

242 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

powerful branch of the Irish Kelts. This eponym may be said to
be identical with the Akkadian word "erim" (Warrior (host.)
(See Syllabary in Sayce's Assyrian Gr&mmar.) That this word was
common to other Turanian languages there is good reason for
believing, and it supports a strong argument in favour of the first
Irish Kelts being employed as warriors by a pre-Keltic Irish Over-
king. Another eponym is Mileadh, a loan-word from the Latin,
denoting " soldier." Gaidheal or Gaoidhiol, the name by which a
Gaelic-speaking Irishman or Scotchman calls himself now. is
defined by O'Reilly in his Irish-English Dictionary, " Gaoidheal,
a.m., a hero, a man who by force or by art gets above all laws."
The word is probably derived from gaide, " armed with a spear,"
and hence Gaidheal signifies a " spearman or warrior."

There is reason to think that it was by kinship rather than by
conquest that the Dalriadic Scots obtained their first settlement in
Alban ; for it is said in the " Tract of the Scots of Dalriada" that
" Bairfind, ' son of Nadsluag,' and grandson of * Oengus Mor,' had
three sons, viz., Lugad, Conall, Galan, and that ' A Cruthneach was
their mother.' " (Skene's Chronicles of the Scots and Picts, p. 311.)
. In the Irish and Pictish additions to the Historia Britonum
the following description would apply to the Ancient Iberians : —

" Necromancy, and idolatry, illusion,
In a fair and well-walled house,
Plundering in ships, bright poems
By them were taught.

" The honouring of sredhs and omens,
Choice of weather, lucky times,
The watching the voice of birds,
They practised without disguise.

" Hills and rocks for the plough,
Their sons were no thieves,
They prepared their expedition,
They reached Inver Boinne."
— Skene's Chronicles of the Scots and Picts, p. 42.

The accounts given of the Picts in Irish Legendary History
generally correspond with those given of the Tuatha De Danann.
Whatever may have been the meaning of the name Picti in the
eld pre-Keltic "dialects, it would seem to have been a common
name among all the pre-Keltic tribes of Erin and Alban for the
whole of themselves. The name is still preserved in Lowland

The Plots. 243

Scotch as Pechts, and as already quoted Gewichtis is a Scottish
rendering of the Gaelic modified form of the name.

" The fifth name of Ireland, according to Keating's History
of Ireland, was Fodhla. « An ciiigeadh h-ainm Fodhla 6 bhain-
rioghain do Thuathaibh De Dhanann da n-gairthi F6dhla : as i fa
bhean do Mhacbecht dar bh' ainm dilios Teathur.' "

" The fifth name [was] Fodhla from a queen of the Tuatha De
Dananns, who was called Fodhla ; it is she [who] was wife of Mac-
becht, whose proper name [was] Teathur." (Keating's History of
Ireland, Dr Joyce's edition, pp. 6-7).

Fodla was son of Cruithne (Chronicles of the Scots and Picts,
pp. 24-25). He is named Fotlla, Ibid., p. 323 ; and one of the
seven divisions of Pictland is called Fotla for him, Ibid., p. 324.
At p. ciii. Ibid., it is stated, " Fodla appears in the name Adfodla,
the old form of the word now corrupted into Athole." The old
forms of the name Athol were Atfoithle, Adtheodle, and Athfhothla
Ibid., p. 76, there are extracts from the "Annals of Tighernach '
in which is recorded, A.D. 739 — Tolarcan MacDrostan Rex
Athfhotla a bathadh ba h-Aengus — Tolarcan, the son of Drostan,
king of Athol, drowned by Angus.

It appears, therefore, from the foregoing statements, that
Fola or Fotdla was the old name of Athole ; but Fodhla was
also an old name for Ireland ; and the Scots, who were colonists
from Ireland, were aware that this was the case, so they named
Fodla in Alban, Athfhodhla or Athfhothla, the next or the other
Fodhla. There were an ancient people in the south of Ireland
named Vodii by Ptolemy. Although it was in the second century
that Ptolemy nourished, he wrote his treatise in the beginning of
the century, and his work is only a corrected copy of another
work, written by Mariuus of Tyre, who lived but a short time
before him, who is believed to have drawn his materials from an
ancient Syrian atlas ; but the Syrians were a Semitic Colony, who
migrated to Syria from the head of the Gulf of Persia, and built
Tyre at a time when the Khetans, Hittites, or Iberians had
founded a great empire in the south-west of Asia, and had
extended their sway to the west of Europe and Africa, and it is
now believed that the Tyrians learned navigation and map-making
from them, and that, to a certain extent, Ptolemy's map is a
representation of the geography of the world as it was in their
day. Ptolemy's geography is partly much older than that of
Pliny or Tacitus, who preceded him. Sidon is mentioned in the
Book of Genesis, Tyre is not.

The Vod and Wotiaks are Finnic tribe-names which correspond
to an ancient Irish name Vodii ; the town nam3 of Buda in

244 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Hungary, is of the same origin, and so is Budii, the name of a
Median tribe. Matiani, the name of another Median tribe, and
also the national name of the Medes, are derived from the general
Finnic or Ugric tribe-name mat, which signifies " tent." (See
Taylor's Etruscan Researches, p. 78).

La, at the end of Finnish names, denotes " place ;" Reval is a
corruption of Rahwa-La, " the place of the people." (Etruscan
Researches, p. 342). So Fodla, an old name for Ireland, and
Fodla in Scotland, now Athole, signify, in each case, the place of
the Fod or Vod, and the Vodii were an ancient people in the south
of Ireland.

At pp. 106-121 of 2nd ed. of his " Goidelica," Dr Whitley
Stokes examines the Gaelic Entries in the Book of Deir. In the
first entry we are informed that Bede, the Pict, Grand Stewart of
Buchan, gave, in offering, to Calumcille and Drostan from Clock in
tiprat (Stone of the well) to Clock pette mic Garnait (Stone of pet
[of the] son of Garnait), pp. 108-9. Pett me.ic Garnait occurs again
in the second entry, and also Pett in mulenn (Pett of the Mill) ;
Pett meic Gobroig (Pett of son of Gobrog) ; Pett Maelduib (Pett of
Maeldub), p. 109.

In the third entry occurs pet mec cobrig, and in the fourth Pet
Ipair (Pet of Ipar), p. 110. At p. 120, Stokes erroneously
compares pet with the Irish "pit (in terc-fit, leth-fit), a portion of
food," with which it has nothing to do.

In looking over Slater's Directory for Scotland, for the year
1882, in search of place-names beginning with Pit, the modern
form which Pet takes, I found none among the Orkney, Shetland,
or Caithness place-names ; two in Sutherland, fourteen in Aber-
deenshire, twenty-five in Fifeshire, three in Inverness-shire, six in
Kincardineshire, three in Kinross-shire, nineteen in Perthshire,
nine in Forfarshire, none in Argyllshire, Dumbartonshire, or
Stirlingshire, one in Haddingtonshire, and none elsewhere south
of the Firths of Forth and Clyde. Pet or Pit seems to be more
frequent where the Albanian Picts north of the Firths of Forth
and Clyde held their ground longest. There is not a vestige of it
left by the Niduarian Picts, or Picts of Galloway, and there is not
a trace of it in Ireland. It seems, therefore, to have been peculiar
to the dialects spoken by the Picts of Northern Scotland. There
is no reason to doubt that there are more place-names beginning
with Pit than I have found in Slater's Directory.

Dr Whitley Stokes, at p. 120 of his "Goidelica," 2nd ed., com-
pares pet with the Irish pit (in terc-fit, leth-fit, a u portion of food),"
but pet, a townland, which alternates with the Gaelic baile, is older

The P/cts. 245

than the appearance of p in the Gaelic language, and is unques-
tionably of Pictish origin. Corresponding to pet, or pett, a town-
land, are Padda, a village in Uraon, Central India ; Patti (village),
Kota, Southern India. — Hunter's, "The Non-Aryan Languages of
India and High Asia," p. 163.

At p. 54 of Hyde Clarke's " Researches in Pre-historic and Pro-
historic Comparative Philology, &c.," are found these corresponding
town names : — Patapa, Peru ; Patawi, Siam ; Patavium, Bithynia ;
Patavilca, Peru and Italy ; Paita, Petu ; Pauta, New Granada ;
Ayapata, Peru ; Pitu, Mexico ; Beda, Mesopotamia ; Pita, Peru ;
Peto, Yucatan ; Pida, Pontus ; Pitura, Peril ; Paturia, New
Granada ; Patara, Lycia.

Among the gifts bestowed on the Abbey of Deir are da dabey
(two davochs) mentioned in the second Gaelic entry, and cetri
dabach (four davochs, free from burthens) named in the sixth Gaelic
entry, p. 111. Stokes, at p. 117, identifies dabach here with
dabhach, a " vat," with which there is no reason to imagine that it
has any other connection further than being a homonym, " but
here used," he says, " like pint, pottle, and gallon in Ireland, to
denote a measure of land." Pint, pottle, and gallon have always
been fixed liquid measures, but dabhach, a " vat," never was, for a
vat has always been, as now, of varying solid content. It is evi-
dently a matter of certainty that dabach, now dabhach, or dabhoch,
has always meant a townland, differing from pet in containing
more pasture and less arable land. Dr Shaw, in his Gaelic diction-
ary, defines " Dabhoch, a farm that keeps sixty cows;" and in
Macleod's and Dewar's it is stated, " Dabhoch, a farm of extent
sufficient to pasture a certain number of cows, varying in different
districts. In the Hebrides, the number three hundred and twenty
is understood." In Slater's Directory, I do not find Davoch occur
but twice — Dovochfin in the parish of Dornoch, and Davochbeg in
the parish of Rogart, both in Sutherland. It appears, however,
that there are place names in the northern counties beginning
with Dauch and Dock, which seem to be contractions of Davoch.

Conforming with Dabach (townland) is Georgian Daba (village)
—Hunter's " The Non-Aryan Languages of India and High Asia,"
p. 163 ; and corresponding to the town names. Tabi, Yucatan ;
Taba, in Phrygia and in Caria ; Teabo, Yucatan ; Thebae,
Bocotia and Thessaly ; Tabatingo, Peru ; Tabeo, New Granada ;
Tebbath, Palestine ; Tapacoche, Peru ; Tabachula, Guatemala ;
Tapuah, Palestine — Hyde Clarke's " Researches in Pre-historic and
Proto-historic Comparative Philology," etc.

The name Deir is said in the Book to have been given to the
place when Culumcille and Drostan parted with each other there -.

246 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

— " iarsen do rat columcille dodrostan inchadraig sen 7 rosbenact
7 foracaib imbrether gebe tisad nabad blianec buadacc tangadar
deara drostan arscarthain fri collumcille be rolaboir columcille
bedear a ainm ohunn imach."

" After that Columcille gave to Drostan that town and blessed
it, and left as (his) word * whosoever should come against it let him
not be many-y eared or victorious.' Drostan's tears came on part-
ing with Columcille. Said Columcille, 'Let De"ar (tear) be its
name henceforward.' "

There need hardly be any doubt that Deir was the name of
the place long before Columcille, or Drostan, was born. Deir cor-
responds to Dera (village) in Dhunal, N.E. Bengal. — Hunter's
"The Non-Aryan Languages of India and High Asia," p. 163.

A considerable portion of the Gaelic vocabulary may be traced
to pre-Keltic languages : — Tain, water, is recognised in Tanais,
the ancient name of the Don in Russia, and there seems to be no
doubt that the modern name Don is derived from the old one.
In Armstrong's Gaelic Dictionary, Don is denned as denoting
water, and is likely a less ancient form of Tain ; so the river-name
Don in Scotland is evidently identical with the same name in
Russia. Abh (av) is given in Cormac's Glossary as denoting
river ; according to Joyce's " Irish Names of Places," it is used
only in the southern half of Ireland. It is found provected into
ap and app in several place-names in Scotland. It probably meant
water, in the primary use of it. Awe, in Loch Awe, was evidently
in its original Gaelic form abha ; ab (ab, abba) signifies the sea in
Akkadian. Akkadian, durud, a fortress, and tir, a judge, seem to
be cognate with Gaelic druideadh, a shutting or closing, and tor, a
lord. Akkadian ra, a gate ; Gaelic cdi or caoi, a way ; whence
cachlaidh, a rustic gate, from cai, a way, and cliath, a hurdle ;
Ak. erim, soldier (host). The oldest form of Eireamhon, the
eponym of the strongest branch of the Gaelic Kelts, is Erem,
which is nearly identical with erim, and evidently closely cognate
with this word. This eponym, Erem, gives strong support to the
theory that the first Kelts came to Ireland from north-western
Gaul, that is, the country of the Veneti, as auxiliaries to an
Iberian Irish over-king. The oldest name by which the Gaels
called themselves was Fene or I'eine, and their cultivated written
language they called Berle Fene. Again, the names Fene and
Veneti are nearly identical, and, doubtlessly, nearly akin to each
other. In Professor Mackinnon's contribution to the Scotsman
newspaper on the Feinn, there is the old Gaelic word rig-
Fennid (Kings-warrior), which still further corroborates the fore-
said theory.

The Plots. 247

Ptolemy's Tinea, now the Tyne, is clearly akin to the Gaelic
tdin (water). The Gaelic caochan, a rivulet, is evidently related
to the river names Cauca, in New Granada ; Cacathus, in India ;
Caca, in Bolivia ; Cachy, in Peru ; Caicinus and Caecina, in Italy ;
and Caicusin, in Asia Minor. — (Hyde Clarke's " Researches in Pre-
historic and Proto-historic Comparative Philology," &c., pp. 49-50.
Gaelic sian, rain ; Sinu, a river in New Granada ; Senos, the
Ptolemaic name for the Shannon, in modern Gaelic Sionainn ;
Birgos, for the Barrow, Biorra in Gaelic. The first part of Birgos,
bir, signifies water ; Bovouinda, the Boyne, in Gaelic A1 Bhoinne.
Gaelic cottud, a mountain; Cotopaxi, a mountain in Ecuador,
America ; Cottia, Alps, Europe. Ak. gan (gana), field, plain,
enclosure ; Gael, ceann, a plain or enclosure. — (O'Davoren's Glos
sary, p. 68). Oidhce Bhealltainn, the last night of April, and
Latha Bealltainn, the first day of May. Belten in Scotch is bor-
rowed from Gaelic. Belltaine (Cormac's Glossary), a genitive
form which points to a nominative Bell-tan. Tan signifies time,
and there is reason to infer from various descriptions
found in Irish writings, and from the superstitions
connected with Mayday and the night preceding it, that
bell means sun, and that Oidhche Bealltainn means Night of
Sun-time, and Latha Bealltainn Day of Sun-time ; so bliadhna (a
year), the old form of which is bliadan, is from bell, or Beal-tdn,
sun-time, or sun's apparent annual revolution round the sun. In
Dhimal and in Kocch, N.E. Bengal, beld is the name for the sun.
Bela is the name for the sun in Khond and Chentsu, Central India.
Gaelic bell, or beal, appears to be identical with beld, found as a
name for the sun in four Non- Aryan languages in India. — Hunter's
" The Non- Aryan Languages of India and High Asia," p. 158).

In Major C. R. Conder's paper on " The Early Races of Western
Asia," in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute, for August
last, at pp. 44-48 there are " one hundred Hittite words compared
with Akkadian, Medic, Susian and Etruscan, Turkic and Mongol
words of archaic living languages." Many of these bear a near
resemblance to Gaelic words, with which they are here compared :
-1 G. ab/iadk, a camp, an encampment a dwelling, an abode ; H.
house, abode ; Ak. ab ; Altaic eb, ev ; Chagataish oba, ova, house.
G. ackadh, a field ; H. a/cer; Et. ager, field ; Chagataish Jdr ; Lapp.
aker, field. G. an, noble, pure ; Ana, the mother of the Hibernian
gods ; H. an, god ; Ak. an ; Medic an ; Et. an, un ; Susian, an.
G. guth, voice, a word ; H. gu, word, say ; Ak. gu ; Buriat, goi, say,

1 G. for Gaelic, H. for Hittite, Ak. for Akkadian, Et. for Etruscan.

248 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

ask. G. ceann, plain, enclosure ; H. kan, gan, enclosure ; Manchu
yuan, garden ; Yakut, khonu, field. G. cu, a champion, a hero, a
chief — a different word from cu, a hound or dog, with which it has
been confounded ; H. ku, king ; Ak. uk and ku ; Susian ku, king ;
Manchu chu, lord ; Ak. ku, high. G. corrach, steep ; H. bur,
mountain ; Ak. kur ; Medic kurkha ; Lapp, kor ; Tcheremiss,
korok ; Gaelic cruach. G. oil, great, omnipotent ; ollamh, a doctor,
chief professor of any science ; ollamhnachd, superiority (O'Reilly);
ollamhan, a chief bard or historiographer (LI. Ar. Br.) ; Ollamh
Olum, a celebrated Irian or Pictish king of Ireland. As in the
case of many other words and names, the second part of this name
has received a perverted explanation ; so Olum is said to signify
crop-eared, from o, an ear, and lum, equivalent to lorn, bare. There
can hardly be a doubt that in this case Olum denotes great or
illustrious. H. lul, lei, chief ; Ak. lala, lul, lil, ruler ; Hunnic
luli, chief ; Altaic ulula, to become great. G. tuirghen, a king, a
lord ; H. tarka, chief ; Et. iarchu, tarchi (Tarquin) ; Siberian
tarkhan ; Tschuwash torgan ; Uigur tarkhan, chief. G. tor, a
sovereign, lord, a noble ; H. tur, chief ; Uigur tore, prince ; Ak.
tar or tur. At p. 33 of the Journal of the Anth. In., Major Conder
remarks that Nazi is a Susian and Akkadian word, which is spelt
syllabically, and signifies a prince. Now, in the Gaelic tale of the
Sons of Uisneach, who were three in number, Nais was the name
of one of them, and the only one that is not transparent to a Gaelic
scholar. The name may therefore be allied to Nazi, the name of
a Hittite chief. This name signifies in Hittite and in Susian
" prince,'' and the Sons of Uisneach were, according to the tale,
princes.

Asia Minor words mentioned by Greek writers — Gaelic, al, a
horse ; all, a bridle ; Carian, ala, horse ; Gaelic, loth, a filly ;
Hungarian, lo, a horse.

At commencing this paper, I never thought that I should be
led by its subject into such a wide field of inquiry and research ;
were the Picts entirely Ugrian, as Dr Isaac Taylor calls them, the
work of writing this paper should have been much less ; but the
common name Picti, by which this combination of tribes called
itself in the time of the Roman occupation of Britain and subse-
quently, is nearly identical with Pictones, an Aquitanian, not an
Ugrian people. The names of the tribes that entered into com-
bination to defend themselves against the Romans, point to
successive migrations from different centres, at various periods,
into North Britain.

The Picts. 249

The pre-historic peoples and languages have been examined
;and compared by distinguished savants, Bryan Hodgson and
several others. Among the oldest of the pre-historic languages are
the Puggmean, the languages of those races of small stature who
were driven to the polar regions, and other desolate parts of the
earth, by stronger races. It is supposed by some scientists that,
at a very early period, they occupied the British Isles. To these
belong the Eskimo found in the furthest northern parts of North
America and in the north-west part of Asia ; the Bushman, in
West Africa ; the Tierradel Fuegians, in South America ; and the
Lapps, who now speak a corrupt Finnish dialect. The Agaw class
is said to be one of the most remarkable of the pre-historic epoch.
The Asiatic branches are the Abkhas of the Caucasus ; the
.Kajunah of High Asia ; the Gadaba of India ; and the Rodiya of
Ceylon. The African branches are the Agaw, Agawmide, Waag,
Falasha or Black Jews, Dizzela, Fertit, Shankali, Koldagi, and
•Somanli, in North Africa ; Egbele, Olomo, Buduma, Pati, Bayon,
Bagba, Bamon, in West Africa.

The North American branches are the Skwali, Sekumne, and
Tsammak. The South American branches are the Guarini, Tupi,
Omagua, Mundruca, and Apiaca, in Brazil, &c. ; the Morima,
Sarareca, in the Missif ns ; San Pedro, Coretu, on the Orinoco.

There appears to have been, in ancient times, a European
branch, the Akhaivi or Achivi, who became Hellenised subseqently.
They, very probably, also occupied Aquitania. They were known
to the Egyptians as Akauisha, and as sons of Ham they are repre-
sented by Havilah in Genesis. They were settled, in ancient
times, near the Lesghians, Lycians, Cilicians, Lakonians, and
Ligurians. A great influence was exercised by this class in propa-
gating culture. Its members would appear anciently to have been
all black. Soine Lakedwellers may be assigned to the Agaw class.
In Guiana, the Lakedwellers talk Guarani or Agau, and those of
Lake Prasias were, without doubt, near to the Akhaisi ; and the
older lake sites are not remote from them. In their dialects, house
and village are equivalent to water, lake, &c. During the Agaw
migrations, many of the great rivers were likely named, such as
the Iberus, &c., in Europe, and the Parana, &c., in South America.
In America the Agaws were forerunners of the Sumero Akkadians.
The Guarani animal names are distinctly Agaw.

The Vasco-Kolarian class of languages is a large one among the
pre-historic languages, approaching the proto-historic. It compre-
hends the Basque in its several forms in Europe ; in the Caucasus,
Jn Asia, the Lesghian, Kazi, Kumuk, Akush, Mizjezghi, A war, &c.

250 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

In India, the Kolarian group, Ko, Singbhum, Sontali, Bhumij,,
Mundari, Uraou, Kuri, Juang, &c. ; in Eastern Asia, Korean ; in
North Africa, the Furian ; in West Africa, Koussa, Handings,
Bambarra, Yoruba, languages, the Ebo, Ashantee, and Fantee,.
Kossa, Fulah.

" The Yasco-Kolarian has tree and house conforming to village
and grove. The roots for tooth and bone supply names for imple-
ments. The names for beasts are based on those for the dog, and
altogether the early elements appear to belong to a stage when
men were passing from an age of stone to one of bone, and from
caves to tree dwellings." — (Hyde Clarke's "Reseaiches in Pre-
historic and Proto-historic Comparative Philology," p. 11).

The northern members of these peoples at present are white or
brown, but all the southern members are black ; but in Herodotus's
time, blacks of them existed as far north as the Caucasus. The
colour of the northern members, therefore, has been changed by
crossing with races having yellow, brown, or white skins. It is
surprising that this group of tribes or nations, whatever be the
present social differences, are, and always have been, warlike. The
Romans were resisted by the Basques, as the Spaniards are and
have been ; the Roman Empire was attacked by the Avars ; the
Russians were long resisted by the Lesghians, under Schamyl ; the
Southals rebelled against the British ; the Americans and French
were beaten off by the Coreans, who kept the Chinese and Japanese
at bay ; the Ashantees have fought bravely against the British,
and Houssas and Kossas fought along with them.

There are many words in Gaelic seemingly cognate with
Basque words : — Arhan, a plum ; Gaelic airne, a sloe ; arrano, an
eagle ; Gaelic jlrean (has nothing to do with fior eun) ; Welsh
eryr ; bero, hot , Gael, breo, fire, flame ; ecin, impossibility ; Gael.
eigin, violence, difficulty ; erbi, a hare ; Gael, earb, a roe ; gar,
flame ; Gael, gar ad h, a warming or heating ; Ml, death ; Gael, oil,
death ; idi, an ox ; Gael, ed, cattle ; khe, smoke ; Gael, ceo, one of
the meanings of which is smoke in the Outer Hebrides.

In choosing these Basque words as apparently cognate with
Gaelic words, I have avoided all those that I suspected of being
loan words from Latin, French, or Spanish.

The Basques are called by Roman writers Vascones, and a
Basque calls himself, at the present day, Uscaldun, his language
Uscara, and his country Uscalherri. The initial V of Vasconea
was evidently substituted by the Roman writers for the Basque B,
which has a sound intermediate between B and V. In modern
Basque, the initial consonant has been vocalised into U hi

The Picts. 251

Uscaldun, &c., and the n into Id Many old Gaelic personal
names end in -ne, which denotes offspring or descendants.
Baiscne, which by aspiration becomes Bhaiscne, and Bais, Bhais,
the first syllable, may be equated with Vase- of Vascones, and with
Use- of Uscaldun. According to the pedigree of Fionn Mao
Cumhaill, as compiled by the Vicar of Bienn Eadair, Fionn is the
seventh in descent from Baiscne, from whom the Clanna Baiscne,
more lately Clanna Baoisgne, were descended — (" Leabhar na
Feinne," p. 34).

We learn from Boyd Dawkins' palseontological work that the
northern range of the Basques extended to the British Isles. The
Sumero-Akkadian is reckoned among the proto-historic languages.
Sumerjan preceded the Semitic languages in Canaan, and the
Akkadians from High Asia blended with the Sumerians in Baby-
lonia. They extended along the Mediterranean westward to Spain
and the north-west of Europe. They became powerful by sea, and
found their way both to North and South America. They were
conquered in Babylonia one thousand years before the Christian
era. The Sumero-Akkadians are supposed to have come from a
common centre in High Asia to Babylonia and to India, and from
the same centre, shortly afterwards, to Indo-China ; then followed
the occupation of Java and other islands. It is highly probable
that Peru was reached four or five thousand years ago. It is to
be observed that the Malay occupation of Australasia must have
cut off the Sumerian intercourse with America.

A prevalent notion among naturalists that words are perishable
and cannot be transmitted, is based upon a false conception. So
far as the Sumero-Akkadian is concerned, words written three or
five thousand years ago in Babylonia, wherein the language is
extinct, are preserved by American populations in an unwritten
form. Longer periods must have elapsed for the diffusion of the
identical words of the Kolarian of India and of Koussa in Africa ;
and more still for the period of spreading of Wolof in Africa and
Khond in India. There are ailimal names common to South
America and Central Africa. These facts give us a -life for a word
or for a myth, as for a race ; and, in many cases, there is purer
preservation of the word or the myth from intermixture than of
cranial forms.

To the languages of Chin- India are akin the Aymara and
Quichua languages of Peru, the Aztek of Mexico, and thereby to
the Sumero-Akkadian. In Southern Peru and Northern Bolivia,
the language of the Aymaras, who were conquered by the Incas, is
spoken. The Quichua is spoken in Northern Peru and Southern

252 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Bolivia. The Aymaras were a great people before the conquest of
the Incas, in 1100. At Tiahuanaca, on the south of Lake Titicaca,
which was the capital of the Aymara land, ruins of magnificent
palaces and temples occur. The conquest of this city was com-
pleted in 1289, but violent revolts ensued. Aymara is probably
the equivalent of Kemer, or Khmer, the name of the Cambodians,
and of Sumer — the name of the people connected with the Akka-
dians. The Kissii, or Cissii, near Babylon, may be said to be
represented by Quichua in Peru and Quiche in Mexico. The
Aztek culture and language of Mexico, as was well seen by
Humboldt, were derived from the old world. The language is to
be classed with Sumero-Akkadian, and is intermediate between
Aymara and Otomi. The Otomi is allied to the Circassian, and
its resemblance to Etruscan, though distant, is remarka1 >le. The
Otomis may have had connections or dealings with the monument-
building races of North America, and at a later period, when the
Sumero-Akkadian kingdoms of Mexico had become weaker, returned
and invaded Mexico. The Maya language of Yucatan comes within
the Sumero-Akkadian class.

Dr Hyde Clarke tells us that " The nomenclature of Ptolemy
and the other geographers is of the Akkad epoch ; and that of the
early Biblical books, Akkad or Babylonian " — (" Researches in Pre-
historic and Proto-historic Comparative Philology," p. 60) ; and at
p. 63, Ibid., he says of speech — " Its influence is, of course, a dis-
turbing one as well, and hence, although not decisive for ethno-
logical determination, it is none the less to be regarded. Speech
is the heir, the representative, the transmitter of the accumulated
experience of civilisation in thousands of years."

When I began this paper on the Picts, I thought, at the com-
mencement, that I had to do with a tree, the roots whereof
terminated in the north-west of Europe, among the Finnish
nations to the east of the Baltic, and in the south-west in Spain ;
but as I proceeded with the inquiry, I ascertained that the roots
of the tree encompassed the globe and crossed immense oceans, and
although this is a long paper, it does nothing like exhaust the
subject — in fact, it merely points to several landmarks which may
suggest some notions of the importance of the topic. It may be
seen from what I have written that the Inverness Gaelic Society
is in the centre of an area where important results might be
attained by diligent research among the Gaelic dialectal peculi-
arities which it presents. The fact is, research may yet discover
forms of words arid phrases that may throw much light on the
pre-Keltic dialects of the North of Scotland.

Hebridean Bards. 253

16th APRIL, 1890.

At this meeting Mr R. L. Mackintosh, wine merchant, Bridge
Street, was elected a member of the Society. Thereafter the
Secretary read a paper contributed by the Rev. Archibald Mac-
donald, Greenock, entitled — " Some Hebridean Singers and their
Songs," Part II. Mr Macdonald's paper was as follows : —

HEBRIDEAN BARDS.
PART II.

Besides John Mac Codrum and Archibald Macdonald (Gille iia
Ciotaig), who, in their own particular vein, were the ablest of the
Hebridean bards, there were minor luminaries in these western
regions whose poems are worthy of preservation. The Uist bards
are characterised by a sly and racy humour, bordering sometimes
on the extravagant and grotesque, but always expressed in the
happiest diction ; and even to this day, Hebrideans who practise
the art of versification seem more inspired by the humorous than
the sentimental elements of life.

A bard of local celebrity in his day, and one who possessed a
large fund of humour, was Donald Maclean, or, as he was known
among his compeers, " Domhnull Mac Eoghainn," or, from the
name of the croft he occupied, " Domhnull Ban na Camairt," a
place in the neighbourhood of Lochmaddy. He was born at
Griminish, in -North Uist, during the last quarter of last century,
and obtained the elements of an English education in the parish
school. He could speak English well — an uncommon accomplish-
ment for a Highland peasant in those days — but accounted for in
his case by his having been sent as a youth to learn the cooper
trade in Greenock, a lucrative occupation in the palmy days of
sugar refining. Donald, however, did not long continue to work
at the coopering. He pined to exchange the bustling energy of
Sugaropolis for the more leisurely life of his beloved island, " far
amid the melancholy main," where time need not be measured by
the clock, but by those chronometers of nature's provision, which
the old Highlander preferred to artificial aids — " mo shuil mo
bhrii 's an coileach." Indeed, in those days the means of inter-
course between remote Highland districts and the south were so
inexpeditious and rare that the journey from Uist to Greenock was
far more formidable than that to America in our day, and the
Lowlands were generally regarded as terribly far away. This
intensified the Scottish Highlander's affection for his native strath
or glen or moorland, and the attachment was often in direct ratio

254 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

to the remoteness and barreness of the natale solum. Only by
bearing this in mind can we understand the strong desire expressed
by a native of lochdair, South Uist, when home-sick and far
away —

" Na' feighinn mo leud aim am mointeach an lochdair
'S cuideachadh siol buntata !

Donald Maclean left Greenock for North Uist, and took up his
residence on the croft of Camairt, where he reared a large family
of sons and daughters. To his crofting avocations he added the
employment of gamekeeper and kelp officer, and latterly of
auctioneer. His wife was a Roman Catholic, and a daughter of
"Fear an Dun-Ghaineachaidh," in Benbecula, but notwithstanding
the difference of faith, they lived happily together. They first
met under circumstances illustrative of how times have changed.
Before the days of the prevention of cruelty to animals, it was the
custom to have a cock-fighting, "Cath Choileach," in connection
with every school, about the Candlemas season. The boys scoured
the country in search of the conquering rooster, and the possessor
of the victorious bird was king for the nonce. It was on one of
these barn-door excursions that Donald first saw his wife. In after
years he came back and married her ; and, as her voice finds
utterance in one of her husband's songs, and she is referred to in
another, it is desirable that she should be mentioned here. Humour,
which is sometimes fantastic, characterises *' Oran na Camairt,"
but it is apt and clever, and the language is classic in its idiomatic
purity. It was composed in dispraise of " Camairt," and the
difficulties which its sterility and unproductiveness presented
in the support of a large family are graphically told. In the very
first verse he breathes an imprecation on the land whose nakedness
he exposes, and he refers to periodical expeditions in search of the
necessaries of life. His journey to Paible to purchase meal ; the
niggardliness of the Macaulay from whom it was bought ; the
indifferent quality of the meal, and the gigantic size of the mites
in which it abounded ; Donald's altercation with the wife, and,
finally, their mutual pledging of one another in mogan, and the
discovery of third cousinship under its mellowing influence, are all
told. It is sung to the same melody as Mac Codrum's " Oran a
Bhonn-a-sia."

ORAN DO 'N CHAMAIRT.

Mile molachd d:> 'Chamairt
Seach aon f hearann an Alba !
'S ami a dh'fhag i mi direach,
'Na mo shineadh an ainmheach,

Hebridean Bards. 255

Ged a dheanainn a churachd,
Cha'n fhas ach buinteag a's sealbhag ;
'S bi mi bharr air an t-Samhuinn
Air uiread caillich a dh'arbhar.

Chorus — Haoi-o-haoiri, horo-hall,
Haoi-o-baoiri, horo-hall,
Haoi-o-haoiri, horo-hall,
'S mairg a thachair 's an aite,
Far nach araichear clann.

Tigh 'n as aonais na mine,

Cha 'n fhaod gillean bhi meamnach ;

Ann a' freasdal bhuntata,

'S gun 's a' bhlar dheth ach meanbhlach :

Ged a rachainn do 'n traigh dhoibh,

Ni na bairnich am marbhadh ;

'S a dhol 'g am ghearain ri Bailidh,

Gur beag stath fcha 'nam sheanchas.

Haoi-o, &c.

Tha mo cheann-sa air liathadh
'S gur e 'm biadh a dh'fhag ann e ;
'S iomadh taigh n' dean mi, " Dia so ! "
Dol 'ga' iarraidh 's an t-Samhradh ;
'Nuair a leumas an t-Samhuinn,
A falbh gu baile Chloinn Aulaidh ;
lad dhomhsa ruladh a bharraich,
'S iad fein ag arrach air cabhraich !

Sud na fir a bhios moiteal

Ni iad fortan arn bliadhna ;

Ma 's e eorna no coirce

Gheibh iad ochd sgillin deug air :

Bi na bodaich ri mo^an,

'S cha bhi sogan 'ga dheanamh ;

'S far an cairear am pige,

Cha tig driog as le fialachd.

Turns thug mi do Phabuill,
On h-airtneulach cearbach,
Dol a dh'iarraidh na ceannachd,
Ann a meadhoin ria h-aimsreach ;

256 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Poc' a dh'fhianagan lachdunn !

Mi fein a's in' each air ar marbhadh,

Mi gan iomain le bata,

Chuid nach fanadh 's a' bhalg dhiubh.

Mile molachd do Ruairi,

'S gu'm a buan sud mu 'Shealbhan ;

Ged a gheibhte' rud uaithe,

Righ ! bu chruaidh e mu bhargan :

Boineid ghlas air a' fiaradh,

A.ir de cheud bhadhar Fhearchair,

'S gu'm be 'n cuineadh 'g a' fhaighneachd,

Air neo line Ailein Chamshroin.

'N am bhi tomhas bhuntata,
Mu'n robh Ian amis a' chliabh dheth,
'S ann a labhair a chailleach,
Aig an teine gu fiadhaich,
" Tha thu nis air fas gorach,
'Nuair bu choir dhuit bhi crionna
'Toirt do chodach do Dhomhull,
'S e cheart cho seolta ri lamhar."

" Eisd a bhorrasach shalach,
'S maith a b'aithne dhomh riamh thu,
C'uim' nach fanadh tu samhach,
'S gu'n do phaigh mi na dh'iarr thu 1
Ach chuir an donas glas lamh ort,
Mar bhios meairleach an iarrunn ;
'S ged a tha thu shiol Adhamh,
Tha thu grannd air do dheanamh."

"Cum fo riaghailt do theanga

'S gheibh thu barrachd 's a dh'iarr thu ;"

Fhuair i botal a's gloine,

'S bha i ealamh 'gan iarraidh :

Dh' ol i sud air mo shlainte,

Lom-lan gus an iochdar,

'S nuair a shloinneadh an cairdeas,

B' i fein 's mo mhathair an t-iar-ogh

In his song to Iain Ruadh Valegui, Donald still complains of
the " Camairt," but hopes for better times. His senior in estate
employment might drop off, and Donald would succeed him in

Hebridean Bards. 257

office. But the proverb about dead men's shoes proved true here
also. Maclean Valegui was a man of education and intelligence,
and had a good deal to do with the management of the North
Uist estate. His subordinate, our bard, a namesake and distant
relative, presuming on the other's good nature, exercised his wit
sometimes at the worthy man's expense. How he expected the
demise of the man who stood in the way of his promotion, how he
feared that even death could not prevent such a worldly man from
visiting the glimpses of the moon, and disturbing Donald in the
enjoyment of his newly acquired possessions and position — all this
with the anticipation of corning disappointment — the necessity of
scattering the family among the friends, and of sending his wife
to the Pope, where she would add no more to the population,
comes out in the song

GRAN DO IAIN RUADH VALEGUI.

'S rnairg a thachair anns an aite
Far nach fas an t-eorna ;
Gearradh feamain gu buntata
Dh'fhaisginr roimh mo mheoirean :
'G obair daonnan leis a' chliabh,
A feuch am beathaichinn an triall,
'S le fianuis chaich ge b'oil le m' bliian,
Oha chuir mi siol am feoirling.

Ach tha mi 'n duil nuair thig am Bailidh

Gur e fabhar d horns' e ;

'Nuair gheibh Iain Ruadh Mac Eachain bas,

Bi Valegui fo m' spogan ;

'S learn an Ruchdi, 's learn a Phairoe,

'S learn a machair mar a tha e ;

'S learn a-huile dad a dh'fhag e,

'S gearrachan Ath-leodair.

Gur e mise bhios gu h-uallach,

Le mo chruachari mora,

H-uile h-aon a thig mu'n cuairt,

Their " Bhudnn e Bhuain e Dhomhuill !"

Cha bhi punndadh cha bhi fangadh ;

Cha bhi sion air bith de aimhreit ;

H-uile duine riamh an Sannda,

Tigh 'n a nail 'ga m' chomhradh

258 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Ach fear tha riutsa cho gabhaidh,
Cha chum bas fo'n fhod e ;
Ged a thiodhlaicinn thu maireach,
Dh'fheumainn geard an comhnuidh ;
Thigeadh tu thugam 's a spagail,
Le d' chul buidhe mar a b'abhaist,
'S chuireadh tu mise 's mo phaisdean,
Mach air earr a' Chr6gair.

Ach na faighinn gillean tapaidh,
'Nam bhi pasgadh t-6rdag ;
Cheangladh do lamhan 's do chasan,
Le buill ghasda chosraich ;
Chum 's gu'n aithnichinn thu'n am eirigh,
A' tigh 'n nuas Lon a' Chleireich
Mar gu'm biodh each 'us di-leum air,
'S theichinn fein do'n mhointich !

Sguiridh mi nis de mo rabhard,
Cha'n 'eil stath 'nam stoiri :
Eoinnidh mi a' chlann air na cairdean
Bho nach fas am por dhoibh :
Cuiridh mi bhean chun a Phapa
Far nach beir i tuilleadh graisge,
'S gabhaidh mi fein le mo mhathair,
0 'n 's i dh'araich og mi.

Donald was not always, however, in the humour of running
down Camairt. Once, in a way, when his wife seems to have been
discontented with the change from the fine fertile fields of her
native Dun-Gaineachaidh to the rugged lands about Lochmaddy,
he assumes the role of admirer of the " Camairt," and in the fol-
lowing metrical dialogue they support opposite sides of the
question : —

Esan.

A Chamairt bhoidheach 'sam bheil mo chomhnuidh,
Gu duilleach neoineanach anns gach gleann ;
Air son do bhoichead cha bharrachd bosd domh,
Teisteas mor a chur ort do 'n Fhraing :
Ma's fear bhios beo mi cha bhi mi d61um,
Coirce 's eorna cha bhi orm gann,
'S bi cuach 'us smeorach a' deanamh ceol domh,
'S mi treabhadh mointich le m' each 's le m' crann.

Hebridean Bards. 259

Ise.

Ciod am fath dhuit a bhi 'ga' raitinn,
As fios aig each nach e sin a th'ann,
Ach aite grannda nach cinnich barr ami,
'S nach faigh na paisdeon a null no nail :
Do chrodh a ranaich 's gun sguap 's an athaidh,
'Us iad ag arach an rud tha gann ;
'S mar faigh a bhlarag e ami a Bhalaidh,
Gun fiugh an t-snathaimi a theid na ceann.

Esan.

Tha mnathan gorach 'us tusa d' oinsich,
Tha moran neouachas ami a' d' cheann,
Tha muir 'us mointeach gu maith 'ga d' chomhnadh,
Tha aobhar solais dhuit tachairt ann.
Tha sobhrach chubhraidh 'us lili dhu-ghorm,
A fas gu dluth air a chreig ud thall ;
'S cha'ii 'eil 's an duthaich ni 's fearr an cumhradh
Ged ghabh thu 'm buireadh sin ann a' d' cheann.

Ise.

'S iomadh caochladh a thig air daoine,
'S tha mise smaointeachadh air 's an am ;
A' moladh aonaich nach fhiach an t-saothair,
'S gun neach 's an t-Saoghal a dh'fhanadh ann,
Le slocan rogach, 's le grobain ch6intich,
Cha 'n falbh mi comhnard gun bhat a' m' laimh ;
'S gu'm b'fhearr learn seoladh gu Pap' na Roimhe,
'Na 'fuireach comhlath riut amis an am.

Esan.

Ma ghabh thu 'n t-ardan 's nach fan thu lamh riuni,
Bi falbh a maireach 's gheibh thu taing,
As ruig am Papa sin tha thu 'gradh,
'S a dh'aindeoin crabhaidh cha'n fhan thu ann ;
Bi mi 's mo phaisdean 'nam mhonadh aghmhor,
Le bainne 's blathaich 's cais' 'us meang,
'S bheir mi discharge dhuit air do dhearna,
'S le beannachd Phadruig na till a nail.

In this short poem the bard gives himself the last word in the
controversy — it must be confessed a somewhat unusual experience
when similar differences arise — but apart from that, it may be
doubted whether he acts the apologist for "Camairt" with the

"260 Gaelic Society of /nuemess.

same zest and success as he plays the part of critic in the two
previous poems. No doubt in the last case his task was more
difficult.

Another Uist bard, of whose compositions the song that follows
alone is extant, was " Nial Ruadh Mor," or Neil Macvicar. He
lived at Vallay, in North Uist, and emigrated to Cape Breton
upwards of 60 years ago, where he continued to woo the muses.
The humour of " Oran nan Cat" leads us to think that his trans-
Atlantic verses must have also been worth preserving, but whether
they live in the memory of the generation that followed is indeed
more than doubtful. As to " Oran nan Cat," the story was that
on the night of a fiddler's wedding, and after the close of the
festivities, a number of the neighbouring cats congregated to
where the bagpipes had been deposited, to whose strains the
merrymakers had tripped the "light fantastic toe," and greedily
devoured the sheep-skin bag, so essential a part of the national
instrument. We do not know whether, like the fox, they con-
gratulated themselves on the combination of meat and music ; but
they fought and lacerated one another over the division of the
spoil, each endeavouring to get the lion's share. But as they did
not go the length of the Kilkenny cats, they were able afterwards
to moralise on the situation. When the period of reflection came,
they were sadder and wiser cats, and their reminiscences of their
destructive convivality seem to have been somewhat mingled.
The piper, in the first verse, refers to the tragic fate of the instru-
ment, and thereafter the different cats express their opinions.

ORAN NAN CAT.

Oidhche banais an fhidhleir

Bha mi inntinneach eutrom,

Mo chridhe mire r' m' inntinn,

'S bha gach ni learn a' geiltinn ;

Piob nan dos 's i fo m' achlais,

'S dheanainn caismeachd do cheudan :

Mu'n d'thainig deireadh na h-oidhche

Cha robh mir dh' i ri cheile.

Seisd — Bheir mi o raill oho
Agus o raill eile,
Bheir mi o raill oho
Agus o raill eile.
Bheir mi o raill oho
Agus o raill eile,
GUT e mis' tha gu tursach,
'S mo chruit-chiuil air mo threigsinn.

Hebridean Bards. 261

Thuirt an cat a bha 'n Langais,
"Tha mo cheann air dhroch cireadh,
'S tim dhomh fein a bhi sealltuinn,
Clod e'n t-arn tha e dh'oidhche ;
'S mor gu'm b'fhearr learn bhi'n cos,
Aig amhuinn Lonaidh 'n am shineadh
No na fhuair mi phiob Dhornhnuill,
'S chaidh an ceol feadh na fidhle."
Bheir mi o raill 6ho.

Thuirt an cat a bha'n Cirean,
" 'S tim dhomh fein bhi dol dachaigh,
Ma's a maith cath nan innean,
Tha mi sgith dhe'r cuid sabaid."
Thuirt cat mor Bun-na-dige,
" Mo chluasan fein air an sracadh :
'S mor gu'm b'fhearr learn i, Dhomhnuill,
A bhi gu ceolmhor fo d'achlais."
Bheir mi, etc.

Thuirt an Clot-cheannach duaichni
An cat ruadh a bh'aig Domhnull,
'S a dha thaobh air an gualladh,
Mar chaidh fuachd ann le reotachd ;
" 'S fad o'n chaill thu na cluasan
Mu'n an truailleachd a' d'oige,
Bhiodh tu crognadh an uachdair
A muigh aig buailtean na mointich."
Bheir mi, etc.

" Eisd a shiongaire lachduinn
Mu'n cuir mi asad an eanchain ;
'De chuir thusa gu baile,
Chur na h-athais sin ormsa ?
Ma chaill mise na cluasan,
Cha b'ann mu'n truailleachd a dh'fhalbh' iad,
Ach droch easlaint a bhuail mi
'S thug iad 'uam gus mo theanas iad."
Bheir mi, etc.

Thuirt cat Dhomhnuill na Camairt —
" B'fhearr domh fantail 's a' mhointich
S daor a phaigh mi mo shuipeir
No na dh'ith mi na dh'61 mi.

262 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

'S aim a chaill mi mo shuilean,
Ge b' e 'n cu bha 'g an sgrobadb,
Air son craicionn seann ruda
'S gur e mun thug a cbloimh dhetb !"
Bheir mi, etc.

Thuirt cat Thormoid 's e labhairt —
" Tbeid bhur sparradh am priosan,
Bho'n tba mise 'nam Earraid
'S duine daingean bho 'n High mi.
Theid bbur glacadh mar mheirlicb,
Bbo nach tamb sibb an oidbcbe,
'S dogh gii faic mi 'n glas lamb,
Gu tigh geard am Port-righ sibh."

Another Uist (South) bard of local fame was Donald Maclellanr
or, as he was called, " Domhnull Ruadh nan Oran." He was the
author of several fugitive humorous productions, but the song-
which follows, "Maighdeann Bhoidheach Mhic Fhearghuis," seems
alone to have survived. This "Maighdean" was really a ship of
that name, the property of one John Ferguson, and on board of
which Donald sailed as a hand. Like most other bards, Donald
was a gay Lothario, who dearly loved the lasses, but this maiden
whose praises he celebrates was more constant and worthy of his
attachment than all the other fair ones on the country side. It is
a fine stirring, breezy effusion, though marred in one or two pas-
sages by the introduction of English words. It sings to the same
air as " Oran nan Cat."

MAIGHDEANN BHOIDHEACH MHIC FHEARGHUIS.

Seisd — Faill illirinn oho hug 'us ohoro eile,
Faill illirinn oho hug 'us ohoro eile,
Maighdeann Bhoidheach Mhic Fhearghuis,
Gur trie a dh'fhalbh shin le cheile.

Tha mo chion air a mhaighdinn,

Gheibhinn caoimhneas 'na 'd' achhlais,

'S tu bu bhoi'che dreach leine

'X am eirigh 's a' mhaduinn :

Do shlios mar chanach an t-sleibhe

'S gaoth a' seideadh 'na 'd' bhadan,

JS tu nach innseadh na breugan

'S nach cuireadh sgeul orm le magadh.

Hebridean Bards. 263

S trie a chaithris mi 'n oidhche,
Cur na maighdinn an ordugh,
Mu'm faigheadh iad be urn dh'i,
Latha Feille no Domhnuich ;
Cha robh riobain mu'n cuairt di,
Ach buill chruaidh dhe 'n a chocraich,
'S i bu bhoi'che dhe cinneadh,
A' dol an ionad a seolaidh.

Fhuair mi loinneachaii posaidh,

Leat bho Steornabhagh Chaisteil ;

Bha do ghealladh ro dhearbhta,

Bha thu earsach na 'd'fhacal ;

'S mi gu'n ceannaicheadh an gun dhuit,

Ged bhiodh crun air t-slait dheth,

Agus riobainean cocraich,

Chum do sheoladh bhi aithghearr.

Cuid de bheusan mo leannain
A bhi cathranach faoilidh ;
Gabhail fhaileadh na mara,
Bho 'n a chleachd i mar cheaird e ;
Bheirinn dram dha cuid lamhan,
'S rud a bharrachd 'nam faodadh,
'S b'e mo raghainn 's mo thlachd,
A bhi a' pasgadh a h-aodaich.

Tha clann-nighean an taobh so

'S beag tha m' uigh ann am pairt diubh,

'Gam bheil crodh agus caoirich,

'S cha ghabh mi h-aon buibh 'n 'd aite ;

'S mi nach iarradh leat tochradh,

Ach jib, a's topsail, a's mainsail,

Agus foresail maith ur,

Bhi as do chionn air a bhreideadh.

'S iomadh oidhche fhliuch fhuaraidh,
Eadar Tuath agus Manainn,
Bha mi muigh ieis a' Ghruagaich,
Leis nach b'fhuathach mo leantuinn,
Ise ruith air an fhuaradh,
'S muir a' bualadh mu darach,
Mi fein 's mo lamh air a guallainn,
'S bha cuisle fuathasach fallainn.

264 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Bha thu gleusd air an aiseag,
Bha thu tapaidh mar bhata,
'Nam tarruing gu cladach,
Cha chluinnte 'glagraich nan ramh ort,
Bha thu comasach coi'-dheas,
Gaoth an ceann no 'na 'd fhabhar,
'S nuair a ruigeamaid Cluaidh leat, .
Bhiodh ar tuarasdal paighte.

Another excellent sea song — of which I fear I do not possess a
thoroughly complete version — was composed by Raonaid Nighean
Mhic Neill, a distinguished poetess in her day. This Hebridean
Sappho (a native of North Uist), nourished, I think, towards the
close of last century. It is said that she was once in the Isle of
Skye wind bound, and waiting for a boat and a favouring breeze
to take her across the Minch. She happened to be one day
gathering shell-fish, along with other women, on the shore of Dun-
vegan, when, raising her head and looking westward, she saw a
tall handsome man passing by. To the astonishment of all, this
gentleman, splendidly dressed, and wearing a gold ring, accosted
Raonaid, and, finding out that she was waiting to cross to Uist,
offered her a passage. This turned out to be young Maclean of
Heiskir, an island otherwise known as Monach, lying westward of
North Uist, and which was occupied by the same family for genera-
tions. In praise of Fear Heiskir and his birlinn the following
stirring verses were composed : —

Gur e mise tha fo mhighean,
'S mi learn fein air a' chnoc,
Fada, fada bho m' chairdean,
Ann an aite ri port,
Gus a faca mi 'm bata,
Le siuil arda ri dos,
Tigh 'n bho Rudha na h-Airde
'S mac an armuinn ri stoc.

Mac an armuinn ri stiuireadh,
A' tigh 'n a dh'ionnsuidh an t-Snoid,
Steach troimh chaolas a' beucadh,
'S muir ag eirigh ri stoc,
Tha do lamhsa cho gleusda,
'S cha do threig thu do neart,
Ged a thigeadh muir du ghorm,
Ohuireadh sruladh a steach.

Hebricfean Bards. 265

Bu tu sgiobair na fairge,
'S tu falmadair grinn,
'S tu gu'n deanadh a stiuireadh,
'Nuair a dhiultadh each i,
'Nuair a bheireadh iad thairis,
'S iad nan luidhe 's an tuim,
Chuireadh tus' i cho gaireach,
Gus an taradh i tir.

Cha bu ghlas bho 'n a' chuan thu,
Cha bu duaichrii do dhreach,
•Ged a dheireadh muir tuaireap,
Agus stuadhana cas.
Bagradh reef orr le soirbheas,
Le stoirm 'us droch fhras,
Bha do mhisneachd cho laidir,
'S bha do lamhsa cho maith.

robh do leithid ri fhaighinn,
Eadar so 's a Chaoir dhearg,
Eadar Lite no Barraidh,
'N dean iad taghal no falbh,
•Cha robh maighistear soithich,
Chuala gliocas do lamh,
Nach bi faighneachd am b'fhiosrach,
C' aite 'm faicte do bhat.

Ged bhiodh ciosanaich mhar' ami,
A bhuaileadh barraibh a crann,
Chuireadh fodh' i gu slataibh,
'S luaithe h-astar na long,
Tha i aotrom aigeanneach,
7G eirigh eadar gach gleann,
Muir a bualadh mu darach,
A' fuasgladh reangan 'us lann.

An iurach alluinn aighearrach,

'S i ri 'gabhail a' chuain,

I ruith cho direach ri saighead,

'S gaoth na h-aghaidh gu cruaidh ;

Ged bhiodh stoirm chlachan meallainn

Anns' an cathadh a tuath,

Ni fear Heiskir a' gabhail

Lamh nach attadh roimh stuaidh.

266 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

The following stanzas are also of the nature of a sea song, and
with them I shall bring this paper to a close. I have not been
able to localise them or state positively that they are Hebridean
in their origin. I have heard it said, however, that they were
composed by a lady of the Macdonald family of Sleat, but they
aflord no internal evidence as to their authorship or the person to
whom they are addressed. Macpherson, Strathmashie, in the
chorus of a song called " An Long Eiginn," has borrowed a part of
the chorus of this song, as, I think, there can be little doubt of its
being the older composition of the two. I am not aware of its
being in print, and I think it possesses the merit of poetic and
refined sentiment : —

Seisd — Ho nan tigeadh mo Robairneach gaolach,
Birlinn aig' agus ceatharna dhaoine,
Dheanainnse mire co theireadh nach faodadh,
B' aighearrach mise 'nan tilleadh a ghaoth sibh.

Tha bhirlinn a tigheann fo h-uidheam an trathsa,
Timcbioll an rudh' agus buidheann mo ghraidh hint',
Fear a' chuil bhuidhe 'na shuidh' air a braighe,
'S tu dheanadh a stiuireadh ri cul nan tonn arda.

Nam bitheadh sud agadsa claidheamh 'us targaid,
Gunna bheoil laghaich, b' e do roghainn a dh'arm e,
Paidhear mhaith phiostal fo chrios nam bann airgid,
'S tu leannan te oige cho boidheach 's tha 'n Albainn.

Cha b' e mo Robainse soideanach suarach,
'S aotrom aighearrach aigeannach suairc' e,
'Snamhaiche linne fear buidhe chuil dualaich,
B' aighearrach mise bhi mire mu'n cuairt ort.

'Nan tigeadh tu fathast b' e m' aighear 's mo run thu,
Cead bhi 'ga 'd choimhead gu'm b' aighearrach learn e,
'Nuair dh' eireadh tu d' sheasamh bu deas thu air uiiar,
'S leat urram an danns' a's tu annsachd na cuirte.

23rd APRIL, 1890.

The paper for this evening was by Mrs Mary Mackellar, on
the "Traditions of Lochaber." Mrs Mackellar's paper was as.
follows : —

Traditions of Lochaber. 267

TRADITIONS OF LOCHABER.

Lochaber was a place of note in very ancient times. Banquo,
Thane thereof, lived at Tor Castle, on the banks of the river
Lochy, as history tells, and the topography of the surroundings
proves. Afterwards Macbeth had a home at what is now known
as Lundavra. St Bershom, in his "Chronicles of St Andrews,"
says that Macbeth was slain at his habitation of Deabhra, and
Skene in his " Celtic Scotland" quotes this, saying that Deabhra is a
lake in the forest of Mamore in Lochaber, on an island of which there
was a castle known as the Castle of Mamore. He further remarks
as proof of this place having been a royal residence, that the glen
leading west from it is still known as Glen-ree, the King's glen,
and that the river running from the lake through this glen is
known as the King's river, " Abhuim ree." The real old Gaelic
name of the lake seems to have been Loch da-rath, and the castle
was known as Dun-da-rath. There are two artificial islands still
in the lake, and on them the castles or raths would be built. The
palaces of Tara and Emania in Ireland were thus built of logs and
wattle, and they were continued in the Highlands until a recent
date as the homes of chiefs and people of note. Lochiel's castle of
the '45, burnt by the Duke of Cumberland, was all of wattle,
excepting the bit of wall where the fire-places were, and which
still stands.

Lundavra is a beautiful place, well fitted for a royal residence.
Ben-Nevis, from its base to its summit, stands like the mighty
guardian of the sheltered spot, and the top of Dundeardeul, which
rises so high from Glen-Nevis, is on a level with Lundavra, and
one can imagine the blaze of the watch-fires there in the days of
Macbeth and his wife Gruoch, daughter of Bode. This king and
queen must have had settled an ecclesiastical colony around them
here, as they had done in Kinross. In driving up on Marshal
Wade's road from Fort- William to Lundavra, we get to a green
fertile tract of country, enclosed by sloping hills, and known as
" An Cro," or " the fold."

This beautiful part is tenanted by a crofter population who
look thriving and comfortable, and the different names of the
townships are suggestive of a religious colony.

The first township we meet in the fold has the name of " Blar-
mac-Cuilteach," the field of the son of the Culdee. This name has
been in recent years corrupted into Blar-Mac-Failteach, but the
old people pronounced it Blar-Mac-Caoilteach, or Cuilteach. Next
to that is the township of " Blar-nan-Cleireach," or the field of the

268 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

clerks, and it is striking to find that name also given to one of the
places granted by Macbeth and his wife Gruoch to the Culdees of
Kinross from motives of piety and the benefit of their prayers,
with the utmost veneration and devotion. Further on in the fold
there is a place that commemorates the older form of religion. It
is known as "Blar-Mac-Druighneach," the field of the son of the
Druid. Macbeth and his wife are said to have placed the Culdees
in Kinross between them and the sea, and they seem to have acted
on that principle here also, for they gave the beautiful and fertile
lands of Callart to the Culdees, who built a cell which they dedi-
cated to St Mun, or St Munnu, and the island in Loch Leven, on
which it was built, and on which its ruins still stand, is known
yet as Eilean Mhunnu, the isle of St Mun. This island is the
burying-ground of the Glencoe men as well as of the inhabitants of
Nether-Lochaber.

We will now record some traditions of the Camerons of Callart
and Lundavra ; and, before proceeding, we may give the following
in support of Dun-da-Raths being the ancient name of this place.
In the Scots Acts of Parliament of 1502, vol. II., pp. 241, 249,
we find King James IV. gave a grant of the life-rent of the royal
forest of Mamore, and the castle on the island of Dun-davray, to
one of the Stewarts of Appin. Early in the fifteenth century,
John Cameron, Archbishop of Glasgow, granted the Church lands
of Callart and the isle of St Mun to his young relative and godson,
John, second son of Ailean nan Creach, Allan of the Forays, chief
of Lochiel. The Archbishop was a great builder of churches, and
it was through his influence that Allan of the Forays built the
seven churches in the Highlands, which were attributed to the
suggestion of the King of the Cats, in the " Tigh-ghairm," or house
of invocation. The Archbishop changed the name of St Mun into
St Mungo, after the patron saint of his own diocese, but the
ancient name is still given to it.

The first offshoot of the Camerons of Callart was Alasdair
Dubh of Cuilchenna, and the second was Allan, first of Lundavra.

The chieftains of Callart, like other Highland gentlemen, sent
their sons to school in France. On one occasion two fine lads were
sent there, the only legitimate children of the gentleman who was
at that time the chieftain of Lundavra. There was unfortunately
an illegitimate son at home, whose name was Angus, and in the
absence of his brothers he had ingratiated himself so much with
his father that he hoped by some means, fair or foul, he would one
day be his successor.

Traditions of Lochaber. 269

At length a messenger came from Appin, saying that a ship
would land the two sons of Callart on the following evening at
Cuilcheiina. Angus was sent off to receive the young gentlemen,
and a jealous pang darkened his soul when he saw the joy of his
father over the return of his boys. He went to meet them, but
instead of conducting them safely home, he slew them, and buried
them in a spot still known as " Glac-nam-marbh," "the hollow of
the dead." The murder was discovered in the course of time,
but the unhappy father was too lenient to punish Angus,
and although he banished him from his presence he lived on the
estate, as he had formerly done, with his family. The old
chieftain died after some years passed, and then one of his nephews
of Lundavra became his successor. The new chieftain left Angus
and his family in peace on the estate, and the clansmen were
anxious lest some judgment would fall upon the house because the
innocent blood of the young men was crying in vain for vengeance.
This new chieftain became the father of five sons and two
daughters, the eldest being still known in Lochaber song and
story, and is always spoken of as Mary of Callart. Mary was the
most lovely girl in all the country, and was the favourite of rich
and poor. She was a poetess, and had the prodigal liberality and
the unwisdom of her kind. She helped her mother in house-
keeping, and all who were in need went to her, as she could not
send any one away empty-handed. Her father frequently found
fault with her, and one day, being more angry than usual, he
turned her out of doors, and told her to go about and see what
she would in her need get from those to whom she was so
foolishly liberal. Mary wrapped herself in her tartan plaid and
went away sorrowfully, for her mother and sister, as well as her
brave boyish brothers, were weeping over the stern decree which
they were powerless to contradict. Mary made up her mind to go
up the Mam, and take refuge in the meantime in her uncle's
house in Lundavra. She met a poor old woman on the top of the
hill who was shivering of cold. Mary's compassion was drawn
forth by her misery, and she at once made two halves of her
plaid, giving the one half to the poor woman, who poured forth
benedictions upon her fair young head. Mary was received kindly
in Lundavra, and meantime the poor wandering woman had gone
to Callart, and as Mary's plaid was recognised, it was feared that
she had suffered foul play. The poor woman shewed them that
she only wore half the plaid, arid told how Mary had met her on
the hill and given it to her as she was shivering of cold. There
was great indignation among all the people when they knew that

270 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Mary was banished from her father's house, and the stern chieftain
himself began to yearn for the loving face of his most beautiful
child, and he sent to Lundavra, and had her brought home.

A dark cloud was, however, hovering over Callart. A ship
came in with dyes and having some richly embroidered garments.
The lady of Callart bought largely of the dyes for her wool, and
they also bought some of the gay garments. Alas ! death was in
the merchandise, and in a few days the plague broke out in
Callart house. The chieftain and his wife died of it, and all their
children but Mary, who attended to them night and day, but was
not touched by the plague. She was in a dreadful position alone
in the house with the dead. No person would come near her, and
she did not dare to leave the house. A watch was set around the
shores to see that no one would leave Callart.

Mary had a lover, young Patrick Campbell of Inverawe, or, as
he is called in Gaelic story, " Oighre Mhic Dhonnacha Inbhir-
atha." A messenger went to him to tell how his beloved maiden
with the golden hair was situated, and he at once went off with a
boat and a few trusty men to deliver Mary from her awful posi-
tion. Some of the men were afraid to venture, but he assured
them that he would act so cautiously as to run no risk.

The brave men rowed silently past the watchers, who had
fires lighted along the shore about the ferry at Ballachulish, and
they were soon at Callart. Mary had a dim light in the chamber
in which she had isolated herself from the dead. Surely there
never was a case of the bride's rejoicing over the voice of the
bridegroom more real and more earnest than the joy of Mary's
heart when she heard her name called by her gallant lover. He
got her out of the house, and made her bathe herself in the sea,
and ca.st all her clothes into the water. He then gave her his
OAvn large, soft plaid, which she wound carefully around herself,
and then he lifted her into the boat, and they rowed away with
their treasure as silently as they came. After getting to Inver-
awe he built a bower for her in the woods, and got clothing for
her from his sisters. He married her forthwith, and then they
lived alone, apart from all his relatives and friends, for three
months, until all agreed that the danger of infection was over.
Further sorrow was in store for the hapless Mary, for her husband
fell at the battle of Inverlochy, fighting against Montrose. Mary
was broken-hearted over his death. We think he must have
returned home wounded and died there, as in her lament she
refers to his being buried behind her house, and we know the
escape of the Campbells from Inverlochy was too precipitate for

Traditions of Lochaber. 271

their carrying any of their dead with them. After her husband's
death, her father-in-law was very neglectful of Mary, and then he
and others began to insist upon her marrying the prior of Ard-
chattan, who had proposed to her. Her heart was sore for the loss
of him whom she so devotedly loved, and she was very unwilling
to enter into this new bond, but they brought such force to bear
upon her that she consented ; and, according to the Lochaber
version of her story, she composed the song of hers that is still
known and sung, on the night of her marriage with the prior.
She sang it to the maidens who attended her, and her soul floated
away in her song, and she died that night. In her song, she first
charges her father-in-law with coldness, and then through the rest
of the pathetic verses she apostrophises her beloved Patrick. It
runs thus : —

A Mhic Dhonnachai' Inbhir-atha,
Is coimheach a ghabhas tu 'n rathad,
Ged tha Mairi Chamshron romhad,
'S og a chaill mi riut mo ghnothuch.

Fheudail a dh' fhearabh na da-'lach,

Thug thu mach a tigh na plaigh mi,

Far an robh m' athair 's mo mhathair,

Mo phiuthar ghaoil 's mo choignear bhraithrean.

Fheudail a dh' fhearabh na greine,
Thog thu tigh dhomh an coill nan geugan,
Bu shunndach ann mo luidhe 's m' eiridh,
Cha b' ioghna sud b' ur mo cheilidh.

Righ gur mise th' air mo sgaradh,

Bhi dol le fear eile 'luidhe,

Is m' fhear fhein air cul an tighe,

Sealgair nan damh donn 's nan aighean.*

Before concluding this story, we may mention that the
Camerons of Callart were satisfied that the plague was sent as a
punishment for the deaths that were unavenged. A new chieftain
came to Callart from the family of Lundavra, and the descendants
of Angus — who were never called Camerons — were known as Clan
Aonghuis, and in English they came to be known by the name of
Innes.

There was no further break in the succession until the last of
the Callarts sold the estate to Sir Eweri Cameron of Fassifern. On

*This song is unfortunately left incomplete owing to Mrs Mackellar's death.

272 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

the first morning that Sir E wen's dairymaid went to milk the cows,,
in one of the Callart parks, she saw a little woman, with a hand-
kerchief about her head, rocking herself to and fro, with a plaintive-
wail. She was sitting on the side of a burn, and looking furtively
at the dairymaid, and as soon as she noticed herself observed she-
gave a loud piercing scream, and fled for ever. It was the
" Bean-shith" that followed the old Callart family, and she was
never seen there again. Our next story is of a more weird sort
than that of Mary of Callart. It is the history of the famous
Lochaber witch, " Gormshuil Mhor na Maighe," " The Great
Gormshuil of Moy." Gormshuil was a common name among the
Scotch and Irish Celts. It was the name of the wicked wife of
Brian Boruimhe, who brought Jarl Sigurd and Brodir, the Viking,,
to fight against her husband at Clontarf, where he was slain. It
was a common name among the Camerons until it fell into
disrepute through this famous witch, and no child in Lochaber
ever got the name again. The Camerons of Moy, known as
" Teaghlach na Maighe," were said to be a branch of the Camerons.
of Callart. A young widow of the house of Callart had fled for
protection to Lochiel at Tor Castle, with her two boys, Charles
and Archibald. This Charles was the progenitor of the family of
Moy, and the name of Charles has been common among them
down through the ages. These Camerons had Wester Moy, whilst
a family of the name of Mackinnon had Easter Moy. The
ancestor of these Mackinnons had come from Skye, with a lady
who married into the Lochiel family ; and when he married he got
a place called Ardnois, in the Giubhsach, or great fir forest at
Loch-Airceag. Afterwards his family got Easter Moy ; but to-
this day they are known in Lochaber as "Sliochd Iain Maidh na
Giubhsaich." These Mackinnons frequently intermarried with the
Camerons of Wester Moy. Among others, young Gormshuil
Cameron became the wife of one of those Mackinnons. She was.
a strong, brave young woman, full of sagest wisdom, and very
high-spirited, and she had no objection to be considered uncanny,
as it gave her power over her fellow men. People shook their
heads and said, " Tha tuille 's a paidir aig Gormshuil," hinting
that she knew more than her Paternoster ; but she heeded them
not. The fisherman going forth to the river, or the hunter going
to the hill, came for her blessing, and gave her of their spoils. One
incident, in which her forethought and wisdom was of good
service to her chief, made her famous in the annals of her clan.
Lochiel was invited to meet the Earl of Athole to fix their
boundaries, and he suggested that they should meet without any
of their men, but each having his piper.

Traditions of Lochaber. 273

Lochiel and his piper were passing Gormshuil's house at Moy,
and she sat by her door crooning a song, and with the familiarity
of the times she aske.1 where he was going. Lochiel resented her
speech by asking what it could matter to her where he was going.
Her reply was " 'S minic nach bu mhisde iasgair no sealgair mo
bheannachd agus co dh' an duraichdinn e coltach ri m' cheann-
feadhna " — u Ofttimes a fisherman or a hunter were none the worse
for my blessing, and to whom would I wish it so heartily as to my
chief?" Lochiel then told her of the message he got from the Earl
of Athole, and she advised him to return and take a contingent of
his men and to hide them in the heather when nearing his
trysting-place with the Earl of Athole, and to appear before him
only with his piper as originally arranged, and that he was to have
an understanding with his men that they were to rush to him if
they saw him turning the scarlet lining of his cloak outside.
Lochiel saw the wisdom of her counsel, and he did as she suggested.

He met the Earl of Athole, who was unreasonable about the
boundaries, believing that Lochiel's person was at his mercy. So
when they could not come to terms, the Earl blew a silver whistle
he had, and immediately a number of armed Athole men sprung
from heath and copse. " Who are those?" asked Lochiel. " These
are the Athole sheep coming to eat the Lochaber grass," replied
the Earl. " Seid suas," said Lochiel to his piper, whilst he turned
out the scarlet lining of his cloak. The Lochaber men jumped up
from their hiding places, and the Earl asked who those wrere.
" They are the Lochaber dogs going to chase the Athole sheep
from the Lochaber grass," replied Lochiel, and forthwith the piper
blew up the tune that has been the gathering of the Camerons
until this day, " Thigibh an so, a chlannabh nan con, 's gheibh
sibh feoil." Gormshuil's counsel saved her chief, and he called at
her cot on his return home to thank her and to promise her
any favour she would seek from him at any time. The piper stood
on the road, and played the new tune, and Gormshuil told her
chief how glad she was that he had been delivered from the Duke
of Athole's deceitful plans. " Yet," she added, " in spite of all
your promises of kindness to me you will one day hang my son."
" Never," said Lochiel, " you have only to come to me, and
remind me of this day, and even if your son deserved hanging, he
will be saved for your sake." 1 need not record here the part that
Gormshuil was said to take in the sinking of the Florida in Tober-
mory Bay, as it has been given by Dr Norman Macleod in "The
reminiscences of a Highland Parish," but the tradition in
Lochaber gives the following account of her death : —

18

274 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

In the course of years one of her sons and the son of a
neighbour were out together on the hill, when the neighbour - -
and another quarrelled, and without intention of murder he gave
his man a blow that slew him. The young man who had done
the deed expected to be put to death, and his mother, whose only
child he was, was in sore distress, Gormshuil, recalling the pro-
mise given her by Lochiel, got her own son to take the blame,
although he was quite innocent, and he did so, and was imprisoned
in the dungeon, whose iron door stood in the face of Loch Airceig.
Then Gormshuil set out to go to Achnacarry to crave the life of
her son from the chief.

She got the length of a burn known in the district then as
Allt Choille-ros, but known since then as Allt Gormshuil or
Allt a? Bhradain. When the hapless Gormshuil got to that burn
she saw a salmon in a small pool, and thought it could easily be
caught. She asked some persons on the road to help her, but
they objected, and she went alone. She went on her knees on the
lower side of the pool, and at that moment the Beum-sleibhe or
spate was in the stream, and it carried Gormshuil away into Loch
Lochy, where she was drowned. Her sou, who was innocent, was
executed, for Lochiel did not know he was her son until it was too
late.

The chief spoken of as being the one to whom Gormshuil gave
the sage advice in connection with the interview with the Earl of
Athole, is generally spoken of as Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel ;
but the date of the sinking of the Florida declares Gormshuil to
have lived at an earlier -late, and the following song would indicate
that it was in the time of Ailean Mac Iain Duibh, the grandfather
of Sir Ewen, that Gormshuil lived in Moy. The following is a
waulking song, a Glengarry witch and Gormshuil having met on
a trial of individual power, to be demonstrated on the piece of
cloth they tossed between them on the Ai Cliath-luadhaidh," or
44 waulking wattle" : —

Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o

Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o

sid gun cluinneam,
gar am faiceam,
gar am bithinn,
beo ach seachduinn ;
creach an t-Sithein,
creach an
go Ooille-ros,
bho Baile-Mac-Glasdair.

Hiro, harm, horo eile,

Hiro, hara, fuaim na cleithe.

Traditions of Lochaber.

Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o
Hi hiu o !
Hiro,
Hiro,

mhollachd bo dhubh,
no bo ghuaillionn,
eadar Ladaidh,
's Gairidh-ghuallach, ;
nach toir Ailean,
donn air ruaig leis,
co chuireadh tu,
gan toirt uaithe.
haro, horo eile,
haro, fuaim na cleithe.

A Bhan-gharranaeh,

Hi hiu o ! cha ruigte leis,
Hi hiu o an tilleadh dhachaidh,
Hi hiu o mhollachd bo dhubh,
Hi hiu o no bo chais-fhionn ;
Hi hiu o a leigeadh na fir,
Hi hiu o mhora thaiceil.
Hi hiu o le bodaich bheaga,
Hi hiu o Dhoch-an-fhasaidh,
Hi hiu o saighead an suil,
Hi hiu o nam fear lachdunn,
Hi hiu o ! 's miiathan tuiridh,
Hi hiu o ! bualadh bhasau,
Hiro, haro, horo eile,
Hiro, haro, fuaim na cleithe.

Hi hiu o ! gheibhte sud,
Hi hiu o ! mu bhun Airceig,
Hi hiu o ! bodaich bheaga,
Hi hiu o ! chroma chairtidh,
Hi hiu o ! cuarahi laoicinn,
Hi hiu o ! stocaidh chraicinn,
Hi hiu o ! breacain liath-ghlas,
Hi hiu o ! dronnag bhradach.
Hiro, haro, horo eile,
Hiro, haro, fuaim na cleithe.

Goroiskvil,

Hi hiu o ! c'nimo au dubhairt,
Hi hiu o ! 'chaile bhradach,
Hi hiu o ! gnu robh Ailean,
Hi hiu o ! donii gun chaiseart,
Hi hiu o ! cha ruig i leas e,

276 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Hi hiu o ! bha iad aige ;
Hi hiu o ! brogan min-dubh,
Hi hiu o ! ciaraidh cairtidh,
Hi hiu o ! stocaidh de 'n t-srol,
Hi hiu o ! dhearg mu 'chasan.

Hiro, haro, horo eile,

Hiro, haro, fuaim na cleithe.

Hi hiu o ! ruaig a' chaorain,

Hi hiu o ! leis an abhainn,

Hi hiu o ! 's a ghran eorna,

Hi hiu o ! am bial na brathann ;

Hi hiu o ! air na tha beo,

Hi hiu o ! a chinne d' athar,

Hi hiu o ! eadar chlann eg,

Hi hiu o ! 's mhnathan tighe,

Hi hiu o ! 's Eilean Droighneachain,

Hi hiu o ! 'bhi na lasair,

Hi hiu o ! 's mar creid thu sud,

Hi hiu o ! seall a mach air.

Hiro, haro, horo eile,

Hiro, haro, fuaim na cleithe.

The Glengarry witch looked out, as she was asked to do, and
her home was on fire. In the blaze of her wrath, she burst on the
waulking wattle, and Gormshuil was triumphant. There are
several of her descendants among the Mackinnons in the Lochaber
district, but they do not like to be reminded of their most famous
ancestress.

80th APRIL, 1890.

The paper for this evening was contributed by Mr J. R. N.
Macphail, advocate, Edinburgh, entitled " An interesting copy
of a Report of the Trial of James Stewart of Acharn." Mr Mac-
phail's paper was as follows : —

NOTES ON THE TRIAL OF JAMES STEWART OF ACHARN.

Everybody who has read "Kidnapped" must remember the
killing of the Red Fox, Colin Campbell of Glenure, and how that
objectionable youth, Mr David Balfour, and his friend, Alan Breck
Stewart, very nearly cams to grief in consequence. And it may

Trial of James Stewart of Acharn. 277

be remembered, too, that in his preface, or dedication, as he prefers
to call it, Mr Eobert Louis Stevenson speaks of " the printed trial"
of James of the Glens. Authors now-a-days have rather a trick
of referring the courteous reader to imaginary authorities in the
shape of ancient manuscripts, archaic maps, and even engraved
shards, in the hope that the story may. perchance, be thereby
invested with an air of life and circumstantiality otherwise
awanting. And so very possibly some may have fancied, that this
reference to "the printed trial" is only such another literary jest.
But they are in error, as anybody in Appin will tell you, for James
of the Glens was a very real and a very ill-used man. His trial, and
an impudent mockery it was, actually took place, and it is some
notes suggested by a curious old copy of the report, or, as Mr
Stevenson calls it, " the printed trial," that Mr Mackay thought
might be of interest to the Society. It would, however, be too
much to assume that, though everybody ought to have read " Kid-
napped," everybody has actually done so, and, accordingly, a short
preliminary sketch is probably desirable, and will certainly not be
out of place.

In 1745, Dugald, 10th and last of the Stewart lairds of Appin,
was a child of tender years. Ardsheal, the oldest cadet of the
house, was Tutor of Appin, and the clan to the number of between
three and four hundred were out under him in that disastrous
time. After Culloden, at which more than half of them were
killed and wounded, the clan dispersed. Ardsheal, who had vainly
attempted to make one more stand away in the west, was
attainted, but, after many adventures, succeeded in escaping to
France in the autumn of 1746. Meanwhile, according to the
authors of " The Stewarts of Appin," the estate was confiscated
and given up to plunder, and the malevolence of the English
soldiery selected December as the most appropriate time for
sacking Ardsheal House, and turning the Lady Ardsheal and her
newly-born infant into the snow. After many hardships, she
managed to join her husband in France, where they were followed
by many tokens of the devoted and thoughtful affection of their
people.

The management of the forfeited estates, and Ardsheal amongst
them, was vested in the Court of Exchequer for Scotland, whose
administration seems to have been, on the whole, fair and just.
The Duke of Cumberland, it is true, was crying aloud for the
extirpation of the whole native population, and, of course, found
some backing amongst the baser politicians of the time. But his
thirst for blood was not shared by the leading statesmen of the

278 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

day, who had come to see, with Duncan Forbes, that the true
method of quelling disaffection was to take methods for improving
the condition of the people. Those who had taken a leading part
in the rising received, indeed, no mercy, and sometimes scrimp
justice, but with the common people byegones were to be byegones,
and encouragement given them to walk for the future in the paths
of pleasantness and peace. The Barons of Exchequer had, how-
ever, to act through local factors, who did not always rise
superior to the temptation of using their office for the paying off
of old scores or the aggrandisement of themselves and their
friends. The local factor on Ardsheal was Colin Campbell of
Glenure, a small glen which strikes south-east from Glen Creran,
an unfortunate appointment both from the character of the man,
and also on account of the long-standing enmity between the
Appin Stewarts and the whole Campbell clan.

This Colin Campbell of Glenure, it may be remarked, was a
son of Patrick Campbell of Barcaldine by his second wife, Lucia
Cameron of Lochiel. On Patrick's death, Barcaldine passed to his
eldest son, John, who, however, got into difficulties, and had to sell
the estate to his half-brother, Duncan, some time Sheriff-Substitute
at Killin, from whom the present Baronet of Barcaldine is descended.
The estates, it is true, have passed into other hands, but the
importance of the old family is attested by the picturesque
ruins of their once proud castle, which contrasts strangely with the
common-looking villa in which the present proprietor is housed.
Besides the judicial rent which had to be paid to Glenure on
behalf of the Court, the tenants regularly raised a second rent,
which was duly remitted to France for the support of the exiled
laird and his family. This was seen to by James Stewart, a
near relative — there seems no evidence for calling him natural
brother, as he is described in the printed trial — of Ardsheal, who
occupied Glenduror, the principal holding on the estate, and was
accordingly known as Sheumas-na-Glinne. Campbell of Balli-
veolan soon cast his longing eyes on Glenduror, and found his
neighbour and relative, Glenure, very willing to oblige him. But
James Stewart managed to get another place in the neighbour-
hood, namely, Acharn, from Campbell of Airds, and so things went
on as before until 1752, when Glenure made up his mind to clear
out a number of the Ardsheal tenants, and replace them with
dependents of his own. James Stewart, being, in the circum-
stances, the natural leader of the people, did what he could on
their behalf by bringing the matter under the notice of the
Barons of the Exchequer, who had already shewn themselves by

Trial of James Stewart of Acharn. 279

no means satisfied with their factor's behaviour. By this time,
too, the conciliatory policy of the Govemmsnt was more fully
matured. The forfeited estates were to be annexed inalienably to
the Crown, and managed by Special Commissioners, who were to
apply the rents for the civilisation of the Highlands, and the pro-
motion of education and industries among their inhabitants.
Improving leases were to be granted on liberal terms, schools to be
erected, and teachers provided. To the whole spirit of such a
measure Glenure's high-handed proceedings were utterly opposed,
and accordingly, when the Court of Session, on technical grounds,
refused to interdict him from going on, the tenants, by James
Stewart's advice, resolved to stick to their holdings, in the confident
belief that he would be disowned in due time by his superiors. The
evictions were to take place at Whitsunday, but on 14th May, as
Glen ure, with a servant, a sheriff-officer, and an Edinburgh writer,
was passing through the wood of Lettermore, on the south, side of
Ballachulish Ferry, he was shot from behind by a man who
instantly disappeared.

Years before this there had died a decent man, Donald Stewart,
leaving his children to the care of Ardsheal and James of the
Glens. One of these children, after giving a good deal of trouble
to his guardians, enlisted in the Royal Forces, deserted to Prince
Charlie at Prestonpans, and after Culloden made his escape, and
apparently obtained a commission in the French service. After
things had quieted down a little, he occasionally came over to
Scotland, wandering about among his friends in Appin, Rannoch,
and elsewhere, but keeping carefully out of the way when any
English soldiers happened to be in the neighbourhood. Such up
to this date was the history of Alan Breck Stewart, whom Mr
Stevenson has now rendered immortal. Upon him suspicion at
once not unnaturally fell, for he was known to have been in the
country for some time, and, like many another of his name, to
have spoken evil things concerning Colin Roy. But not a trace of
him could be seen in spite of the most industrious search, and so
the rage of the Government and of Glenure's friends had to look
out for another victim. For some days before the murder, Alan
had been living at Acharn, and it was suspected that his escape
had been facilitated by his former guardian. Accordingly, James
of the Glens was arrested and carried off to Fort-William, where
he was imprisoned for several months, while no stone was left
unturned to concoct evidence against him. In the upshot, he was
indicted as art and part with Alan in the murder, and placed on
his trial at Inverary Circuit. Archibald, third Duke of Argyll,

280 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

long known as Earl of Hay, was at the time titular Justice
General, and he took full advantage of his position to prevent any
chance of an acquittal. The Lord- Advocate, William Grant of
Prestongrange, also lent himself to the plot, as is admitted by Mr
Omond in his book on " The Lord-Advocates of Scotland," though
palliating circumstances are urged on his behalf. In Mr Omond's
words, " The proceedings from the first were unfair. There was
a standing feud between the Campbells ; }^et the trial took place
at Inverary, where the Duke of Argyll was supreme. There were
two judges of the Court of Justiciary present, but the Duke, then
Justice General of Scotland, sat as a judge, though he had never
been in the habit of doing so. The Lord- Advocate went to Inver-
ary, and conducted the prosecution in person, although, it was
said, no Lord-Advocate ever appeared in a Circuit Court before."

Glenure had been married to one of the Mackays of Bighouse,
in Sutherland, a niece of the 4th Lord Reay, and the indictment,
which took the form of criminal letters, ran at the instance
of the widow and her children, as well as of the Lord-Advocate ;
and so far did the malice of the private prosecutors carry
them that attempts seem actually to have been made to hamper
the prisoner's defence by retaining all the leading members of
the bar, and so deprive him of their assistance. The Court met
on 21st September. The judges were the Duke of Argyll, who
presided, and Lords E chies and Kilkerran. The prosecuting
counsel were the Lord-Advocate ; James Erskine, then Sheriff of
Perth, afterwards raised to the bench as Lord Barjarg ; Mr
Robert Campbell of Asknish, head of the M'lvers, and who,
according to Douglas, " was brought up to the Bar under the
particular tuition of Archibald, Earl of Islay, afterwards Duke of
Argyle, and possessed much of the confidence and friendship of
that great man as long as he lived;" Mr John Campbell, yr. of
Levenside, afterwards well known as a judge under the name of
Lord Stonefield, son of Archibald Campbell of Stouefield, who had
been Commissioner on the Argyle estates, and was at this time
Sheriff-depute of the County ; and a very virulent gentleman
rejoicing in the somewhat chequered name of Simon Frazer.
According to the Scot* Magazine, this was " Mr Simon Eraser,
commonly called the Master of Lovat, lately called to the Bar,"
and there are good reasons for believing this statement to be
correct. In 1745, while but a student at the University of St
Andrews, the Hon. Simon Eraser of Lovat was sent for by his
father, and practically compelled to join in the rising. For a year
or two thereafter he was kept in a sort of honourable captivity in

Trial of James Stewart of Acharn. 281

Edinburgh and Glasgow, until in 1750 he received a free pardon.
During his whole subsequent career he lost no opportunity of
ingratiating himself with the Government, with the result that
the Lovat estates, though not the title, were restored to him.
The otherwise unaccountable virulence which characterised this
his first appearance at the Bar is thus capable of easy,
if not very creditable explanation. The defence was in
the hands of George Brown, Sheriff of Forfar, and four
years afterwards a judge under the name of Lord Ooalstoun ;
Thomas Miller of Glenlee, Sheriff of Kirkcudbright, afterwards
successively Lord-Advocate, Lord Justice Clerk, and Lord Presi-
dent of the Court of Session ; Robert Macintosh, son of
Lauchlan Mackintosh of Dalmunzie (who was minister of
Dunning and afterwards of Errol), an able but very
eccentric advocate, whose career is sketched at length in the
Ochtertyre Papers ; and Walter Stewart, younger of Stewarthall,
regarding whom Mr Ramsay has also preserved some information.
Objections were taken to the relevancy of the indictment, dis-
cussed at great length, and, of course, repelled. Then the jury
was empanneled. In those days the presiding judge nominated
the jury, while the prisoner had no peremptory challenge, so that
it is not surprising that out of the 1 5 selected eleven were Camp-
bells. Two gentlemen of the name, indeed, to their credit, it is
said, refused to serve, on the ground that their minds were biassed
against the prisoner, but the others had no such scruples. And so
the trial went on. Even against Alan Breck the prosecution, with
all their efforts, made but a shabby case, while againet his alleged
accomplice not a single scrap of reliable evidence was adduced.
But the Duke had picked his men well — one of them, Duncan
Campbell of Southhall, even trying to stop the speech of counsel
for the defence — and he was rewarded with a unanimous verdict
of guilty. His passion, which had been smouldering throughout
the trial, now broke forth into insolent abuse as he addressed the
unfortunate man whose blood he must have felt was on his head.
Mr Omond's idea is that the Government were terrified lest the
murder of Glenure should be seized upon by the Duke of Cumber-
land and the rancorous gang under his control, to force them to
abandon their policy of conciliation ; that they felt that somebody
must hang, and did not care very much whether he were innocent
or guilty ; that such outbreaks must at all costs be prevented in
the future, and, in short, that the conviction of James of the
Glens was in their eyes a political necessity. " Therefore,"
says Mr Omond, " in order to secure a conviction, Stewart was

282 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

tried at Inverary, where he was amongst his enemies, the Lord-
Advocate appeared in a Circuit Court to press a charge founded on
insufficient evidence, a packed jury was put into the box, and the
Duke of Argyll presided on the bench." There may very well be
some truth in this view. The Lord-Advocate had no special
enmity towards the prisoner, and it is on his behalf that this
excuse is urged. But it is impossible to believe that in the mind
of the Justice General, though these considerations may have had
a place, there was not also direct personal rancour against the
prisoner as representing an odious race, and as having been hate-
fully loyal to the banished Ardsheal. The only defence, if
defence it can be called, ever made for his Grace has been pre-
served by Lord Cockburn in his " Circuit Journeys." A loyal
Campbell, who had the hanging of James Stewart flung in his
teeth, retorted with some pride that anybody could get a guilty
man hanged, but only Mac-Chaileinn-Mor a man who was innocent!
The sentence of the Court was that on 8th November James
Stewart should be hanged on a gibbet to be erected " on a con-
spicuous eminence upon the south side of and near to the said
ferry'' of Ballachulish, " until he be dead, and thereafter to be
hung in chains upon the said gibbet." On. 5th October the
unfortunate man "\\as carried from Inveraray to Fort- William
tied on a horse and guarded by 80 soldiers," and 011 7th November,
under a still stronger escort, he set out to meet his doom " The
command of soldiers escorting the prisoner," to quote from the
Edinburgh Courant of 21st November, 1752, "came to the north
side of the ferry upon the evening of the 7th, but it blew so hard
that they could not cross till the morning of the 8th. The
prisoner was attended by Mr William Caskill, minister of Kil-
malie, and Mr Couper, minister at Fort-William, and a few of his
friends. A little after twelve they got to the place of execution,
where was erected a small tent that contained the two ministers
and the prisoner, and after a short prayer by one of the ministers
the prisoner produced three copies of a speech, one of which he
gave to the Sheriff-Substitute of Argyleshire, another to Captain
Welch, the commanding officer, and asked leave to read the third
copy, which, being granted, he with an audible and distinct voice
read a very extraordinary speech, and, when he had done reading,
gave the third copy to Mr Douglas, Sheriff-Substitute of Inver-
ness." Then ensued an unseemly wrangle, the Sherift-Siibstitnte
of Argyleshire maintaining that various statements in the speech
were untrue. Finally, "the prisoner kneeled and read a very
long written prayer, and then the other minister sang psalms and
prayed. The prisoner took leave of his friends, mounted the

Trial of James Stewart of Acharn. 283

ladder with great composure and resolution, and read
a short written prayer with an audible voice. The storm
wras so great all this time that it was with the utmost difficulty
one could stand upon the hill, and it wras near five before
the body was hung in chains. There were a great number of the
country people present ; and sixteen men of the command in
Appin are stationed at Ballachulish to prevent the gibbets being
cut down." Little wonder that people in Appin still show you
where James of the Glens was done to death, and declare that the
very grass refuses to grow on the accursed spot.

In all copies of the printed trial there is, or ought to be, a map
of the district, and in the particular copy in my possession that
map has on it certain MS. notes. These notes are in an old-
fashioned hand, and betoken considerable local knowledge on the
part of whoever is responsible for them. For example, the house
of James Stewart is marked, so too the place where Glenure was
killed, and one or two other places of less conspicuous importance.
It occurred to me that it might be interesting to know who was
responsible for these notes. The names of several proprietors of
the volume adorn its pages, the earliest of all, if one may judge
from an old-fashioned book-plate, having been a certain General
Con way. The volume itself was published in Edinburgh by S.
Hamilton and J. Balfour in 1753, and it struck me at first that
Conway might have been as a young officer employed in
garrison duty, say at Fort-William, about the time in question,
but after a good deal of investigation, this conjecture had to be
put aside, as no trace of any such person could be obtained. There
was, however, a very eminent General Conway — Horace Walpole's
friend — who occupied a prominent place in the political and social
life of the second half of last century. Born in 1721, he lived till
1791, having been Secretary of State and leader of the House of
Commons in 1765, and Commander-in-Chief, with a seat in the
Buckingham Cabinet, in 1782, besides having in the meantime
seen a good deal of service, and, in particular, having commanded
the 48th Foot at Culloden. But it was not from any experiences
of his during the '45 that this General Conway was likely to have
been interested in the killing of Glenure and all that followed
thereon. Here, as elsewhere, conies into play the good
old maxim — cherchez la femme. In December, 1747, Conway
married the widowed Countess of Ailesbury. This lady,
who had in 1739 married, as his third wife, Charles,
fourth Earl of Elgin and third Earl of Ailesbury.
was the daughter of John Campbell of Mam ore, whose father was

284 Gaelic Society of Inverness

the second son of Archibald, ninth Earl of Argyll ; and who was
thus first cousin of Archibald, the third Duke, who presided at the
trial. Duke Archibald, who died in 1760, left no legitimate
children by his wife, the daughter of Wakefield, the Paymaster of
Marines. To a woman named Williams, by whom he had an
illegitimate son, he left his whole English property, but the duke-
dom and minor titles and the family estates devolved on Lady
Ailesbury's father as the fourth Duke of Argyll. For three years
after his marriage, Conway lived at Latimers, in Bucks. Then in
1751 he was for a short time with his regiment in Minorca, but
returned home early in 1752, and bought Park Place, Henley-on-
Thames. During part of that year and the next he was on duty
in Ireland, but during part both of 1753 and 1754 he was in this
country, and attending Parliament. In 1755, he was again in
Ireland as secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant, but was back in
London next year, and for some time to come. I have been
unable to find any trace of his having been in Scotland during any
of these years with his wife's relatives, and very possibly visiting
the Appin country itself. Of course he may have been, but no
evidence that he was has yet come under my notice. But it is
quite clear not merely that he had abundant opportunities during
this time of associating in London and elsewhere with his Scottish
connections, and learning from them what was going on in the north,
but also that he himself actually took a very lively interest in Scots
affairs. Such an event as the murder of Glenure cannot, in the
circumstances, have failed to come under his notice, and, coming
under his notice, to have secured his attention also for the whole
proceedings. It would not, accordingly, be surprising to find
that he possessed a report of the trial of James Stewart, and if so,
that the map in his copy was annotated by somebody possessed of
full local knowledge. There is no reason for. believing that he
possessed that local knowledge himself, but nothing was simpler
than for him to transfer to his own map the notes which some of
his Campbell relatives — perhaps even the Duke himself — had
placed on theirs. In short, I think there is very little reason for
doubting that the General Conway, to whom the old volume
before me once belonged, was Henry Seymour Conway, whose
career has been described, and also that the annotations on the
map owe their existence to somebody who was either himself mixed
up with the judicial murder of James of the Glens, or intimately
connected with those who were.

Scottish Co/lection of Gaelic MSS. 285

7th MAY, 1890.

At this meeting Mr R. L. Mackintosh, wine merchant, Church
Street, was elected a member of the Society. Thereafter Mr
Alex. Macbain, M.A., read a paper contributed by Professor
Mackinnon, Edinburgh, entitled "Scottish Collection of Gaelic
MSS." Mr Mackinnon's paper was as follows : —

THE SCOTTISH COLLECTION OF GAELIC MSS.

With the exception of some half-dozen manuscripts, all that
remains in Scotland, so far as at present known, of the labours
of industrious Gaelic scholars through many centuries, now
lies for preservation and reference in the Library of the
Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh. The collection is to be
regarded as but gleanings from the dust heap of the ages, mere
fragments cast ashore from the wreck of the past, rather than a
full representation of the literature. That, native scholarship
flourished in our midst in the far past we know. Historically,
Gaelic literature in Scotland begins with Columba. The Saint
was a poet, a scholar, an accomplished penman ; and the literary
as well as the missionary spirit of the founder lived in lona for
many a long day. It used to be said that Columba left a copy of
the Psalter written in his own hand in every church which he
founded. Be this as it may, we know that the great missionary
was a devoted student of the Psalms from his boyhood, and that
it was death alone that was able to snatch the pen from his hand.
But of the literature of this period hardly a vestige remains.
The Norsemen swept the Hebrides in the end of the eighth, and
through the two succeeding centuries. These " roving barbarians"
took particular pleasure in plundering monasteries and massacring
priests. They were passionately devoted to their native saga, but
in their heathen days the books of monks were objects of value
to these men solely because of their costly coverings. A
single volume has happily escaped their destroying hand. The
monastery copy of Adamnan's Life of St. Columba, in the hand of
Dorbene, writing-master of the day, and at the time of his death
(713 A.D.) Abbot-elect of lona, was carried away by a monk to the
Continent, probably after the murder of Blathmac, in the year 825
A.D. The priceless document lay for a thousand years in the
monastery of Reichenau, on the lake of Constance, and on the
suppression of that house in the end of last century, found

286 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

its way to the Library of Schaffhausen, where it now is.
Six or seven manuscripts of this period have been preserved
in Ireland. Whether any of these belonged to lona is now matter
of conjecture only. The Book of Kells is, in its decoration and
ornamentation, the crowning glory of Celtic art. Now, it has
been observed that in the character of its illuminations the
"Lindisfarne Gospels," the work of men who acquired the knowledge
of their craft from the school of lona, approaches the Book of
Kells more nearly than the Irish manuscripts of the period.
Historically we know that the Monastery of Kells rose on the ruins of
lona. Accordingly, it would seem a fair inference that this Book
was at one time the Book of lona, or the work of students of
that great school. Gaelic learning nourished in Pictland. But the
reforming Queen Margaret was hostile to native ways, and this
accounts for the total disappearance of Gaelic manuscripts produced in
that part of the country. Among the articles handed over by the
Culdee Monastery of Loch Leven to St Andrews, seventeen books are
named, but all trace of these, as well as of the hundreds of others
that must have existed, is lost. The Book of Deer, a MS. of the
ninth century, with, memoranda written on its blank spaces in
Gaelic of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, has been preserved, we
know not how, and is now in Cambridge. Sixteen months ago, Mr
Whitley Stokes discovered, from a note on a beautiful copy of a
Psalter in the Vatican, that the Codex at one time belonged to the
Monastery of " Sancta Maria de Cupra," that is, Coupar-Angus.

When a settled government was established in the Hebrides,
first under the kingdom of Norway and afterwards under the
Lords of the Isles, the old literary relations with Ireland were
resumed, and learning revived. The Monastery of lona, and in a
less degree the Abbeys and Priories of Ardchattan, Saddell,
Oronsay, with others, were seats of Gaelic learning and culture.
The Macdonalds kept state in Islay for several generations, with
all the pomp and circumstance of Royalty. This great house fell
on the eve of the Reformation, and the records, which we know to
have been kept, have disappeared. A solitary charter written in
] 408 on a strip of goat's skin, and conveying certain lands in Islay
to "Brian Bicare Magaodh," was recently found in the possession
of a man of the name of M'Gee in Antrim, who had deposited
the parchment for safe custody in a peat hag, but who with
difficulty was persuaded that the Register House in Edinburgh
afforded a securer home, pending the time when the lands described
in the document would be restored to his familv. In the middle

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS. 287

of the 16th century came the Reformation, which, in so far as the
uprooting of the old order of things and the destruction of native
manuscripts were concerned, was pretty vigorously carried out in
those districts which looked to lona for light and leading.

There were other causes of a permanent character which
powerfully affected the production and especially the preservation
of manuscript literature in the Scottish Highlands. The country
was turbulent and lawless ; the climate was damp ; the dwellings frail
and mean. Over and above all there were the neglect and
indifference with which such literature came to be regarded by the
great mass of the people. A family of MacMhuirich was for
eighteen generations hereditary seanachies to Clan Ranald in
South Uist. The illiterate descendant of this long line of Gaelic
scholars describes, in the year 1800, the dispersion of the
family library, the accumulation of centuries. Clan
Ranald ordered the reporter's father to give the "Red Book,"
amissing since that time, to James Macpherson from
Badenocii. There were many parchments, but "none of these
books are to be found at4 this day, because when his family were
deprived of their lands they lost their alacrity and zeal. He is
not certain what became of the parchments, but thinks that some
of them were carried away by Alexander, son of the Rev.
Alexander Macdonald, and others by Ranald, his son, and he saw
two or three of them cut down by tailors for measuring tapes.
He himself had some of the parchments after his father's death,
but because he had not been taught to read them, and had no
reason to set any value upon them, they were lost." The
wonder perhaps is, not that so few MSS. have been preserved,
but that so many have survived.

For the collection of Gaelic MSS. as we now have it, scholars
are indebted mainly to Mr William F. Skene, D.C.L., the present
Historiographer Royal for Scotland, author of " Celtic Scotland,"
and other learned works. The catalogue prepared by Mr Skene
enumerates sixty-five separate manuscripts. Of these, MS. xxxii.,
one of the oldest and most valuable, described at length in the
Highland Society's Report on Ossian (App., pp. 285-293), and in
Ewen Maclachlan's "Analysis" (pp. 122-127), has been amissing
since 1841, when it was in the possession of Thomas Thomson,
Esq. ; and MS. xxviii., containing an old and valuable copy of the
Synchronisms of Flann of Bute with other matter, is represented
now only by a modern transcript of a portion of the Synchronisms.
In addition to these sixty-five, there are transcripts made of the

288 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

contents of several MSS., or portions of MSS., by Ewen Mac-
lachlan of Fort-William and Aberdeen and the Rev. Donald
Mackintosh, including an elaborate analysis of fourteen of the
manuscripts by the former scholar. There are also several col-
lections of Ossianic Ballads, made in the end of last century and
beginning of the present by Duncan Kennedy of Kilmelford, and
others ; while, in recent years, the late Mr Campbell of Islay has
bequeathed the whole of his own extensive collection of Gaelic
Tales and Ballads to the Advocates' Library. Of the history of
individual MSS., we know but little. The first four of Mr
Skene's catalogue are the property of the Faculty of Advocates.
Of these, a portion of MS. i. was discovered in the Library 50 to
60 years ago, and is supposed by Mr Skene to have once formed
part of the Kilbride Collection. I find, however, from a volume
of Letters, Essays, etc., published by the Rev. Dr Malcolme [of
Duddingston] in 1744, that that gentleman presented to "A new
Society at Edinburgh for improving Arts and Sciences," on March
7th, 1738, by the hands of Mr [Professor] Maclaurin a MS. answer-
ing in description to this portion of MS. i. MS. ii. was presented to
the Library by the Rev. Donald Macqueen of Kilmuir, Skye. MSS.
v. to xxxvi. inclusive formed part of the famous Kilbride Library.
MS. liii. (the Glenmasan MS., as it is called), is also believed
to have belonged to the same collection. Lord Bannatyne, in
letter to Henry Mackenzie, Esq., the Chairman of the Committeo
of the Highland Society appointed to inquire into the authenticity
of Ossian's Poems (Appendix to Report, p. 280), tells how, through
the influence of Mr Macintyre of Glenoe and others, he was able
to obtain access to these MSS. The tradition among the Mac-
lachlans of Kilbride was that one of their ancestors was a dignified
ecclesiastic at the time of the Reformation, and that a taste for
Gaelic literature and antiquities characterised the family for many
generations, in consequence of which they had acquired a large
collection of MSS., gathered partly in the Highlands of Scotland,
partly in Ireland. MSS. xxxii. -xxxvi. and liii. were secured for the
Highland Society at the beginning of the century, and permission
to catalogue the others was obtained. Many years afterwards, what
remained of the Kilbride library (MSS. v.-xxxi.) was discovered by
Mr Skene, and through him deposited in the Advocates' Library.
The rest of the Collection came into the possession of the Highland
Society of Scotland in one way or another. The greater number,
including the Dean of Lismore (MS. xxxvii.), MS. xl., and indeed
all the more valuable, came from London, through the hands of
John Mackenzie of the Middle Temple, who was Secretary of the

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS.

289

Highland Society of London, and literary executor of James Mac-
pherson. Many of these were no doubt collected in the North by
James Macpherson himself, and the whole were eventually brought
together in consequence of the interest in Gaelic literature excited
through the poems published by that gentleman imder the name
of Ossian. Four MSS. (liv.-lvii.) are marked as the property of
Peter Turner, an old soldier, who published a second edition of
Ranald Macdonald's collection of Gaelic songs in 1809, and a fresh
collection made by himself in 1813.

Of MSS. not included in the Advocates' Library collection, the
following are known to exist. In the University of Edinburgh,
and forming part of the Laing collection, are a medical manuscript
once in the possession of several Beatons ; the collection of Ossianic
and other Gaelic poems made by the scholarly schoolmaster of
Dunkeld, Jerome Stone ; a large collection of Gaelic poetry made
about the beginning of this century by the Rev. Dr Irvine of Little
Dunkeld ; and a fragment of a treatise on Gaelic Grammar, written
before 1762. In 1784, the Rev. Donald M'Queen of Kilmuir
presented to the Society of Antiquaries a copy of a translation of
Barnardus de Gordon's Lilium Medicince. On the fly-leaf of this
MS. is a note to the effect that it was the Book of Farquhar
Beaton who lived at Husabost in Skye five generations previously,
and that the cost of transcribing a copy of the Lilium Medicince
used to be 60 milch cows. Mr Skene is the possessor of two or
three MSS. Among these is one which I had the good
fortune to identify as the lost Fernaig MS. several years
ago. I transcribed and annotated the whole of it, and in April,
1885, sent a detailed description of it to the Society (Transactions
vol. xi., pp. 311-339). Several medical MSS. were said to have
been in the possession of Dr Donald Smith, who died in 1805.
Probably all that now exists of these is 24 leaves of vellum, discovered
among the papers of the late Mr Duncan Smith, Glasgow, Dr
Smith's nephew, and now in my possession. The collection made
by the Rev. James Maclagan, minister of Blair-Athole, is in private
hands. So is the portion of the Iliad of Homer translated into
Gaelic verse by the late Ewen Maclachlan of Fort-William.
Several have disappeared, and are disappearing daily. A transla-
tion of the Old Testament Scriptures, as far as the Song of
Solomon, was undertaken, and in part at least executed, by mem-
bers of the Synod of Argyll in 1657-60. The MS. of the Books ( f
Chronicles of this translation was in existence as late as 1851
(Fasti Eccles. Scot, v., p. 14), but cannot now be traced. Mac-
nicol of Lismore's collection of Ossianic ballads has disappeared

19

290 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

within recent years. The late Dr Cameron of Brodick informed
me, shortly before his death, that he possessed the whole, or a
considerable portion of the manuscript of Dr John Stuart of Luss's
translation of the Old Testament.

Of the sixty-three catalogued MSS.now in the Advocates' Library,
thirty-six are written on parchment, twenty-five are written on paper,
and two partly on parchment and partly on paper. The Dean of Lis-
more's MS. is amongst the oldest of the paper MSS. Both it and
the Fernaig are written in the current hand of the day, and on a
peculiar orthographical system, approaching more or less closely to
the phonetic. With the exception of a few written in the last
century, all the other MSS., whether parchment or paper, are in the
old Gaelic hand, and in the orthography and idiom of literary men
of the writers' day. Many of the parchments are in part illegible,
the effect of damp, soot, and neglect ; others are as fresh and clear
as on the day they were written. The handwriting varies greatly
— in some cases coarse and uneven, in others of exquisite beauty.
Several have the capital letters ornamented, and here also we have
mere daubs, as well as the brightest of colours and high artistic skill.
Some of the paper MSS. have their edges rubbed away, with a leaf
torn here and there. Several are mere fragments. MS. ix., for
example, consists of a portion of a single leaf of dirty paper,
011 which is written a genealogy of the Macdougalls. MS. Hi.
consists at present of loose leaves and scraps gathered together under
one cover. Even the Book of the Dean of Lismore (xxxvii.) has
several of its leaves torn, and is in many places illegible, through
frequent use and neglect.

A number of the more modern paper MSS. contains a consider-
able amount of unpublished Gaelic verse, some of which possess
literary merit MS. Ixiii., for example, contains poems by Alex.
Macdonald of Ardnamurchan. The version in the MS. is
different in a few cases from that published, as e.g. in the poem
called the " Ark." In another commencing —

A Thearlaich mhic Sheumais,
Mhic Sheumais mhic Thearlaich,

the MS. gives nine stanzas, as against three published in the
author's works. Other pieces, from their force, vigour, political
bias, and, one regrets to add, coarseness, must be attributed to
the same brain. Hardly any Gaelic poet, except Mac Mhaighstir
Alastair alone, could compose the following : —

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS. 291

Hug air c!6 Mhic 'Ille Mhicheil,

O hugibh, hugari, hug,

Hug air clo Mhic 'Ille Mhicheil.

Oganaich uir a chuil teudaich

'S oil learn eudach a bhi dhith ort.

Gu'n chuir Albainn clo am beairt duit
'S 'nuair thig e as cha bhi aon dith air.

Bidh e fighte, cumta, luadhta

Ma's tig oirnn buain na Feille-micheil.

Gheibh mise culaidh g'a shuathadh
Ma tha gruagaichean ;s an rioghachd.

Gu'm bi do chlo ruadh-sa luadhta
Le gaorr, full, is fual 'g a stiopadh.

In MSS. Ixii. and Ixv. again, among a heterogeneous mass of song
and ballad and proverb, are some verses of merit, evidently
composed in Kintyre, a district which does not figure
prominently in our published Gaelic literature. Satire, which in
Gaelic usually means foul abuse in more or less faulty rhyme,
passes between a Mac Cairbre and a Mac Mhurchaidh. The latter
is described as " a piper, a fiddler, a harper, a tailor and school-
master," as well as a would-be bard, and a man, according to his
reviler, enjoying undeservedly the confidence of the Laird of
Largie. Largie's piper in 1745 was a M'Murchy, and he claimed to
be a poet (Glencreggan, ii. pp. 235-6); but whether this man possessed
all the gifts and graces of the noted pluralist of the MS. I know
not. One piece is headed " Marbhna Maigester Eoin M'llleoin."
The author mourns the death in succession of " Good Mr Patrick,
and the two Masters John." The subject of the verses must be
the Rev. John Maclean, minister of Killean (1728-1743), whose
immediate predecessors were Mr John Cunison, M.A. (1 692-1 C99),
and Mr Patrick Campbell, 1699-1728 (Fasti. Eccles. Scot, v., p. 45).
A more ambitious piece in MS. Ixv. is a long and wordy address by
a nameless author to his countrymen throughout Kintyre. A
portion of this poem will be found in the " Oranaiche," p. 435-7.
(Here as elsewhere I write as far as possible in the orthography and
grammatical forms of our Gaelic of to-day) —

Soraidh soir uam gu Cinntire,

Le caoine dilse agus failte,

Gun ard no iosal a dhearmad,

Eadar an Tairbeart is Abhart [Dtmaverty].

292 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Banaltra Galltachd is Gaidhealtachd,
Ge do threig i mor a h-abhaist,
Bha drughadh gach tir d'a h-ionnsuidh ;
'S cha duraichd aon neach a fagail.

And about the most meritorious piece of modern Gaelic verse-
known to me is found on p. 28 of MS. Ixii. It is anonymous, but
the subject is a dignified remonstrance to the Laird of Largie for
having sold his lands, herein described as

Eadar Allt-Pharuig fa dheas,

Is Allt-na-Sionnach 's leat fa thuath ;

Fearann a's aille fo'n ghrein,

'S duine treigte thug dha fuath.

The description of the sunny slopes of Kintyre, and of the rural
economy of the district seems singularly happy —

A magha mm a's blaithe fonn,
An cinn torach trom gach p6r ;
Eadar monadh maol is traigh,
Am binne bairich laogh is bho.

'S binn a maighdeana 'n a buailtibh ;
'S binn a' chuach am barr a tuim ;
'S binn an smeorach nach claon fonn ;
'S nuall nan tonn ri slios a fuinn.

And no doubt the lines that follow describe with equal fidelity a
phase of life intensely real in the author's day —

A macraidh ghleusta ghasta gharg
A chuireadh gu fearrdha bair,
Aig do smeideadh mar bu choir,
Dream nach pilleadh beo le tair.

'S lionmhor curaidh fear treun fial
Shoir is shiar ri teachd 'n an ceann,
Bu cho-dhileas duit ri t' fhe6il,
'Nuair nochdta do shr61 ri crann.

MS. xlviii. again is a small miscellaneous collection, once in the
possession of the MacMhuirichs of South Uist. Several pieces.
are Ossianic, e.g. —

" Goll mear mileanta
Ceap na crodhachta," <fec.;

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS. 293

a, poem at one time in MS. xxxiv., whence Mr Mackintosh copied
it. A version of

Cnoc an air an cnoc-sa shiar, &c.,

is printed in the Transactions of the Ossianic Society of Dublin
(iv., 81). The Dean of Lismore has a copy of

" Se la gus an de
Nach fhaca mi Fionn,"

also found here. One of Deirdre's songs —

Soraidh shoir gu h-Albainn uam,

printed by O'Flanagan, O'Curry, & Stokes from the Irish MSS.,
is here, and also, with considerable variations and additions, in
MS. Ixii. Several pieces are the composition of Cathal and Niall
M6r MacMhuirich. The latter once spent six nights in Dunvegan
enjoying the hospitality of Ruairidh M6r MacLeoid, a chief of
large heart and open hand, upon whose death the MacCrimmon of
the day composed that grand wail "Cumha Ruairidh Mh6ir."
MacMhuirich commemorates the visit in some spirited verses —

Se oidhche dhamhsa 's an Dun,
Nior b'e coinnmhibh feallsa fuar ;
Cuirm lionmhor d'a h-ibhe a h-6r,
Fionn bhrugh mor is lionmhor sluagh.

Gair nan clairseach 's nan cuach trom,
Ag nach gnathach fuath no feall ;
Gaire na mileadh fleasgach fionn,
Lionn misgeach is teine thenn.

But apart from a large portion of the Dean of Lismore's Book
and of the MSS. written within the last 200 years, the great bulk of
the contents of the Gaelic collection consists of the standard liter-
ature common to the educated Gael, whether of the Scottish High-
lands or of Ireland. Our collection is not to be compared, in
volume, variety, or antiquity, with the rich Irish collections ; but
it is valuable nevertheless, and often supplies gaps in the larger
literature preserved in Ireland. The contents of several of the
MSS. are almost entirely in lyric verse, the authors partly High-
land, but chiefly Irish. One such is MS. xxxv., transcribed by
Eamonn Mac Lachainn, 1654-5. According to Dr Donald Smith,
no mean judge, several of the sonnets, odes, and epistles in this
MS. " yield to no compositions of the kind in any language with

294 Gaelic Society of Inverness

which I am acquainted." Some are certainly beautiful. Here are
a few lines from an epistle sent by a love- sick swain of the Emerald
Isle to a cruel fair one in Alba : —

Gluais a litir, na leig sgios,

Gu faice tu ris i fein ;

Feoraich di a faigheam bas,

No am bitheam gu brath am pern.

If his doom is death the poet solicits burial in Alba for reasons
assigned : —

An crich Alba ar bhith seimh,

Is ann thaghainn fein mo chur ;

Far an luidheadh i air mo lie,

'S am bidh i air m' f heart x a' gul.

The ease with which a happy simile is borrowed from external
nature, and subjected to the trammels of rhyme, is very admir-
able :—

Ma's aluinn leat do ghruaidh gheal,

Geal an sneachda, beag a luadh ;

Ata 'm buafhallan 2 buidhe f6s,

Ma's buidhe ria an t-6r do ghruag.

Ma's dearg leat do leaca shaor,
Leoir deirge nan caora con ;
Ma's dubh leat do mhala mhin,
Duibhe na sin li na Ion.

Ma's glas leat fein do shuil mhall,
Glaise na sin barr an fheoir ;
Tha guth ceol-bhinn aig a' chuaich,
Ma's binn leat fein fuaim do bheoil.

And it would be difficult to improve upon the following quatrain
(MS. Ixv.), wrung doubtless from the heart of a bereaved mother : —

Thig an samhradh, thig an samh ;
Thig a' ghrian gu lanach glan ;
Thig am bradan as a' bhruaich ;
'S as an uaigh cha tig mo mhac.

Of the old MS. literature, a considerable portion consists of
translations more or less literal, chiefly from the Latin. The heroic
literature of Greece and Rome caught the fancy of Gaelic authors,

1 Grave. 2 Ragweed.

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS. 295

and they rendered into their own language large sections of it from
the Latin versions available. MS. viii., e.g. consists of thirty-four
folios. The whole is taken up, with the exception of one
page, with the legendary history of Greece. MS. xv. contains
twenty-eight folios — subject, the expedition of Jason, the labours
of Hercules, and the Destruction of Troy. This MS. has been
copied, with a view to publication, by Mr Whitley Stokes. A poem
on the Argonautic Expedition is catalogued as part of the contents
of MS. xix. MS. xlvi., that designated " Emanuel" from the fact
that some pious person had written the word several times over
the page, is a fragment only, the subject being ancient
hi«tory. One chapter, in treating of an episode in the wars of
Pompey and Caesar, relates how a Roman officer wanders from the
camp, and, meeting a countryman, begins to question him regarding
the history of the villages and forts, and the names of the hills round
about. The rustic tells Curio, such was the officer's name, that a
rock opposite was called the Rock of Antaeus, and the legend of
that mighty son of earth follows. Mr Astle assigned the date of
this MS., on palaeographic grounds, to the ninth and tenth century.
The language is not so old as this. A rather illegible note at the
foot of p. 4 gives what looks like 1315, which may be the date of
the document.

A large portion of the ecclesiastical and religious literature of
pre -Reformation as of post-Reformation days, is translated.
Among us the amount of this class of manuscript preserved is not
very great. There is nothing of the wealth of "passions" arid
"homilies" and legends, such as are found, e.g., in the Leabhar
Breac. But eight folios of MS. i., and portions of several others, are
exclusively religious. The contents are chiefly the " passions," or
sufferings and death, of the Saviour and the Apostles, legends regard-
ing such ecclesiastics as Abbot Paphiiutius, Gregory of Rome, &c. One
of the " passions" in our MS. i. is not in the "Speckled Book," viz. —
the passion of our Lord as revealed to St Anselm. To this composi-
tion is appended the following interesting note: — "And it was
John O'Connor that translated [this passion] into Gaelic for
Duncan O'Feely, and it was Dugald Albannach, son of the son of
Paul, that wrote it on this parchment in the presence of Elisa Butler
in Baile [?], in the year of our Lord 1467." Along the
top and bottom of two pages is drawn a thick line in alternate
bars of red and black, with an explanatory note that O'Mulconry
traced this line for Dugald Albannach in the house of M'Egaii in
Munster, and that it was designed to represent the blood-stained

296 Gaelic Society of /nuerness.

footprints of the Saviour upon a marble flag. An imperfect copy of
the same " passion," as well as a treatise on the Ten Commandments,
is found in MS. xxv. A treatise on the Mass, with other matter, is
given in MS. xxvi., and here, as in that on the Commandments,
the author proves himself quite familiar with the writings of the
Fathers on these subjects. In MS. iv. are pious reflections and
prayers, chiefly in Latin. MS. vii. contains a good copy of a homily,
entitled Teagasg Sholaimh, usually called Sermo ad Reges, In MS.
xl. is "The punishment of Adam," a copy of which is also in the
Le*bhar Breac, and a rhymed version in Saltair na Rann (line
1483, et seq.), edited by Whitley Stokes (Oxford, Clarendon Press,
1883).

Of native production is the Life of St Columba, called by Dr
Reeves " The Old Gaelic Life." Copies are found in Ireland in the
" Leabhar Breac " and in the " Book of Lismore," both of which
have been printed by Stokes. Martin, in his " Description of the
Western Isles" (p. 264), mentions that both Macneill of Barra
and Macdonald of Benbecula had copies of this work. Whether
that now in our MS. xl. is one of these, we know not. The
'•Life," according to Dr Reeves, is a composition of the tenth
century, or thereabouts, and was meant to be a kind of sermon on
the Saint's day. In form, the treatise professes to be a discourse
on Genesis xii. 1, the command given to Abraham to leave country
and kindred being considered applicable to the circumstances of
Columba. Here and there we come upon religious verses. There
is, in MS. Iviii. (a modern paper MS.), besides a Life of St Margarec
and verses on the Catholic Religion, the commencement of a rather
ambitious poem, being an epitome of history in verse, from the creation
down. Religious, and especially moral pieces, were perhaps more
frequent in the old literature than later. In MSS. xxv., xxxv.,
xlviii., and others, there are several such. In MS. v. is a copy of
the piece attributed, in the Burgundian Library MS. in Brussels,
to Columba, a translation of which is given by Mr Skene in
" Celtic Scotland," II., p. 91. The verses are supposed to describe
the saint's daily life in lona. Here are three stanzas, spelling
so far modernised : —

Milis learn bhi an Uchd Alainn,
Air beinn x cairge ;
Gu faicinn ann ar mhinic(e),
Feath na fairge.

1 Pinnacle.

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS. 297

Ho sgrudainn aon na leabhar,

Bhiodh maith do'm anmain ;

Seal air sleuchdadh air neamh ionmhuinn,

Seal air salmaibh.

Seal a' buain duilisg de chairgibh;
Seal air acladh 1 ;
Seal a' toirt bidh do bhochdaibh;
Seal an carcair.2

Following these verses in MS. v. are others, also anonymous, of
beautiful melody, but unfortunately in great part lost, the MS.
being torn : —

Ro b'e miann do m' anmain-sa
Dh' fhaicsinn gnuise Dhe
Ro b'e miann do m' anmain-sa
Bith bhetha imalle

To the class of translated works falls to be added in great part
at anyrate the medical section of om MSS. This is a most
important part of the Scottish collection, about a third of the whole
being medical or quasi-medical. With, the exception of a cursory
examination by Dr Donald Smith of one or two of them (Report on
Ossian, Appendix, p. 293), these documents have not yet been read
by a medical man. Dr Norman Moore of London examined
nine such MSS. in the British Museum, and wrote a valuable
paper upon them in the Bartholomew Hospital Reports for 1875
(vol. xi). Dr Moore concludes that the British Museum MSS. are
translations, partly because he has traced the originals of some of
them, e.g., the Lilium Medicince of Barnardus de Gordon ; partly
because old native words are frequently discarded and the scientific
term adopted from Latin (or Greek); but chiefly because none of
these MSS. begins like an original Gaelic document by naming the
time, place, author, and occasion of writing it. The same
characteristics mark the medical MSS. in the- Scottish collection.
In range of content, these cover the whole field of medical science
known in the middle ages, including botany, biology, and not a
little astrology. Some, like the copy of the Lilium Medicines in
the Library of the Antiquarian Society, are known to be transla-
tions. Others give the text of Galen or other authority in
Latin, and then proceed to give a translation, paragraph by
paragraph, accompanied by a comment. The comment is frequently
very voluminous and detailed ; and in some cases it may be an

1 Fishing. 2 Prison.

298 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

original Gaelic composition. How have so many medical treatises
been preserved in the West Highlands ? There would not be the
same reason for destroying such documents as there would be for
doing away with treatises on the mass or with charters and
records and annals that might preserve the evidence of exploded
beliefs, or disputed rights. Besides, the principal custodiers of
the medical treatises survived the Reformation. These were
a family of the name of M'Bheath, or M'Veagh, or Beaton,
who practised medicine in the Western Isles, chiefly in Islay, Mull,
and Skye, for many generations. It is said that the first Beaton
came from Ireland ixi the train of the daughter of O'Cathan, who
married Angus Og of Islay arid Kintyre, the friend of Bruce. A
pedigree of the family was written by one of themselves on a
blank leaf of the medical MS. in the Library of the University of
Edinburgh. There are six branches of the family named. These
are all traced up to a common ancestor, Fergus Fionn, or " The
Fair." Fergus Fionn is traced up to Beath, the founder of the
family, and he again to Niall of the Nine Hostages, monarch of
Ireland. One of the witnesses to the Islay charter of 1408 is "Fercos
Macbeth." As "Fercos" was the only one of the four witnesses
able to write his name, the others signing with a mark, he was
probably the writer of the document, and may well have been the
Fergus Fionn of the pedigree. King Robert II. granted to
Ferchard Leche, or " The Leech," all the islands on the Sutherland
shore from Stoer Head to the Point of Armadale, together with
lands in Melness and Hope in the parish of Tongue. The tradi-
tion has always been that the gift was a mark of gratitude on the
part of the King to Ferchard for curing himself or his son of a
painful and dangerous disease after the case had baffled the
Court physicians. Ferchard is said to have been the Islay
Ollamh of his day. This name does not appear in the pedigree.
The names of * several members of the family are found
on the margin of many of the Gaelic MSS., especially of the
medical MSS. Malcolm, Donald, Christopher, and Fergus
M'Bheath appear to have owned the Edinburgh University MS.;
the last of whom was of the Mull branch of the family, as the
entry, Hie liber est Fergusii M' Veagh, habitantis Peanagross, shows.
The ruins of the Ollamh Muileactis house are seen at Pennycross,
in Mull, to this day. One of the Mull M'Bheaths was, according
to Martin, on board the " Florida" when the vessel was blown up
in the Bay of Tobermory, in 1588. John Beaton, f amity physician
to the Macleans, died in 1657, as the Latin inscription on his tomb
in lona bears. According to Martin, a Fergus Beaton was in Uist

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS. 299

at the time he wrote, and had in his possession the works of
Galen, Hippocrates, Avicenna, Averroes, Barnardus, and others.
Farquhar Beaton, as appears from the Antiquarian Library MS.,
practised in Skye in the first half of the seventeenth century. It
is mainly to these men we owe the preservation of the rich collec-
tion of Medical MSS. we now possess, and which are worthy of a
thorough examination by a competent medical man. Many
changes, educational, ecclesiastical, political, and economic, have
taken place in these parts during the last 400 years, and I do not
know a way in which these can be brought more strikingly home
than by a perusal of the medical books of the Gaelic Ollamhs.
These men were familiar with the literature of their own profes-
sion ; and the names of Galen, Hippocrates, Averroes, John of
Damascus, Barnard De Gordon, Jacques De Forli, Isodore, and, as
the author of MS. x. puts it, a thousand others, were household
words among them. [According to a pamphlet published in 1778>
and attributed to the Rev. Thomas White, minister of Liberton,
whose wife was Anne, daughter of Daniel Bethuue, minister of
Kosskeen, the Bethunes and Beatons of Skye and Mull are traced
to the Bethunes of Balfour in Fife. The McBheaths of the old
Gaelic MSS. seem to have been unaware of this relationship.]

The principal departments of the purely native literature are
the Historical, including history proper, annals, genealogies,,
biographies, £c.; the Scientific, including law, treatises upon
language, grammars and dictionaries; and the Legendary, including
heroic literature and works of imagination. The compositions
that embrace these are in prose and verse. But it is a feature
of Gaelic literature that the driest historical facts and pages of
genealogies are thrown into verse, while works of pure imagination
are mainly in prose, with verse interspersed.

In the Scottish collection the historical department is poorly
represented. MS. v. contains a good copy of the history of the
proceedings at the National Convention of Druimceatt, where St.
Columba was the central figure ; and where, among other questions,
the future relations of Dalriada to the mother country of Ireland
was disposed of. The arrangement come to, suggested by Columba,
was proposed by a young priest named Colman ; and this is how
the men of old solved the Home Rule problem of their day : — The
people of Dalriada, in the matter of hostings and expeditions, that
is to say, in their foreign policy, were to remain one with Ireland ;
in their purely domestic affairs they became independent. MS. 1.
contains a history of the Macdonalds of the Isles by one of the-

300 Gaelic Society of Inverness

M'Mhuirichs. Copies of portions of Keating's History of Ireland
are given in one or two of the later MSS. Then there are the
lives of St. Columba and St. Margaret. But iu the Scottish
Collection there are no annals to be compared with those preserved
in Ireland. Records were kept in lona, and by the Lords of the
Isles, but these, with others, are, it is to be feared, lost for ever.
Neither have we genealogies to compare with the genealogies pre-
served in the Book of Ballymote and elsewhere in Ireland. The
first folio of MS. i., written by Dugald Albannach in 1467, con-
tains the genealogy of several of the clans, and has been printed
by Mr Skene, first in the Collectanea de rebus Albanicis, and
afterwards as an Appendix to volume iii. of Celtic Scotland. MS.
li. gives a genealogy of the kings of Ireland ; and the old heroes,
whether Grecian or Gaelic, are usually traced up to Adam, or at
least to Noah. As already stated, the leaf constituting MS. ix.
gives a genealogy of the Macdougalls, and the pedigree of the
MacBheaths is given in the University Medical MS. Short bi< -gra-
phical notices of distinguished persons are found in MS. vii. — of
men, beginning with Art the Solitary, and of women from Scota,
the daughter of Pharoah, downwards.

A formal treatise on Gaelic Law, such, e.g., as the Lebar Aide,
does not exist in the Scottish collection. The subject, for many a
long day, did not possess a living interest to Highlanders. The
Gaelic tribal organisation seems to have been completely replaced
in the Hebrides by the Norse occupation, as witness not merely
the prevalence of Scandinavian proper names, but the borelands, the
penny lands, the teirungs, &c. When native ways recovered them-
selves by the end of the thirteenth century, the country was
rapidly consolidating into a kingdom, the feudal law was established
in the south and east, and, without in practice interfering with old
customs, may have begun to be tacitly acknowledged in the west.
A considerable amount of lore describing the various classes of
Bards, with the rights and privileges of each grade, is found in
several MSS., and specially in vii. There are good copies of the
so called precepts of Cormac, and here and there fragmentary
notices, etymological and legendary, of famed places, all, or nearly
all, in Ireland. A copy of the great grammatical and philological
treatise found in the Books of Balimote and Lecan, &c., is also in
MS. i. of our collection. Our copy does not contain the
chapter on the Ogham Alphabet, and several sections and para-
graphs are awanting here and there. It is to be hoped that
this document, by far the most complete source of information regard-
ing the ways and practices of native poets and scholars in existence,

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS. 301

will soon be published by a competent Gaelic scholar. In MS. Iviii.
is the commencement of a treatise on grammar ; and, as already stated,
in a MS. of last century in the Laing Collection in the University
of Edinburgh, are the opening sections of what promised to be a
good Gaelic Grammar. This fragment is written in English. The
observation is made, among others, that of old no word except "exotic"
words began in Gaelic with^?. MS. xxxviii., written before 1500,
according to Skene, but assigned by Gaidoz to the seventeenth
century, contains a vocabulary of some 740 words, several of which
I have not been able to trace elsewhere. The last page of MS. vii. is
also mainly taken up with several scores of words denned or
explained. These, though valuable and worthy of being printed,
do not approach in interest or importance Cormac's Glossary,
edited by Stokes.

The department of native literature, which for our purposes
may be described as the Heroic and Legendary, is by far the
largest of all. This kind of literature has been preserved in two-
fold form. As elaborated and " improved" by the native authors,
these compositions were written down by Gaelic scholars from time
to time in MS. As preserved in the tenacious memories of successive
generations of reciters, they have been handed down orally, and
collected in our own day by the late Mr J. F. Campbell and others.
In both forms the subject matter of the composition was so far
changed in the process of transmission. The literary improver
depended as much perhaps upon the popular version as upon his
imagination in touching up his incidents or embellishing his
periods ; the reciter no doubt refreshed his memory by frequent
reference to manuscript. A considerable portion of this literature,
oral and MS., consists of myth and nursery rhyme, of popular folk
tale or scrap of ballad — literary debris characterised by good men
in the past as idle if not evil, but subjected in our day to scientific
analysis, and made to cast valuable light upon the history and
beliefs of prehistoric times. Several others of these compositions
are stories of individuals, marvellous tales of personal adventure,
fightings with terrible foes — human and other. But the more
ambitious of them associate themselves for the most part with
one or other of two main periods or cycles famed in Gaelic romance.
These are the mythological period — say from the creation until the
Gael had, by conquering their foes, established themselves in their
own land ; and the heroic period, which divides into two epochs —
the epoch of Cuchullin, the Sons of Uisneach, etc., which is placed
chronologically about the beginning of the Christian era ; and the
epoch of the Feiun, i.e., of Fionn and his companions, which is
placed in the third century.

302 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Many of these compositions are of a truly epic character ; but
as preserved in the MSS. they are more commonly in detached
form — episodes, or remscela, of a larger drama. Sometimes, and
especially in more recent times, the particular episode is recorded
entirely in verse — a ballad ; but the classical form is the Tale.
The Gaelic Tale is of a distinct type, varying somewhat in the
MS. and in popular literature. The MS. tale is a skilfully composed
narrative of events in historical order. Here and there, the more
important incidents are gathered up, and repeated by the leading
actor for the time, in lyric verse. The style varies. As a rule,
the prose tale is wordy, inflated, exaggerated ; but not infrequently
the style is vigorous and chaste, adapting itself with ease to the
varying mental movements of the narrator. In the popular tale
the style is less elaborate ; the diction as a rule is simpler, the
syntax easier. The laoidh, or "lay," so frequently met in the MS.
tale, hardly ever appears. But the reciter, in recounting a stirring
incident, passes from plain prose into a semi-rhythmical movement
which is neither prose nor verse, but partaking of the
character of both. This peculiar style is technically termed
ruitheannan or " runs." In the mouth of a skilful reciter, this
impassioned recitative is highly effective. Examples are found in
all the most elaborate of Campbell's Tales — a very good one, e.g.,
is the description of the lubhrach Bhallach, or " Speckled Barge,"
in the opening of the Tale of the Knight of the Red Shield (West
Highland Tales II., 456), and which Macdonald of Ardnamurchan
must have had in his mind Avhen composing Clanranald's Birlinn.

The Scottish Gael has preserved orally and in MS. a large an a
valuable collection of this heroic literature. In the Dean of
Lismore's Book there are some thirty poems and ballads classed as
Ossianic. Down through the later MSS, (xlviii. and others) are
additional ballads and variant versions. Mainly in consequence of
Macpherson's publications, Ossianic literature has since been
diligently collected by several scholars, and published. The
exploits of Fionn and his band form the subject of many a MS.
tale, as well as of a large number in Campbell's and other
publications. Of the earlier periods of Gaelic romance, our
Scottish Collection preserver valuable relics. Our oldest copy of
the great Gaelic saga, the Tain 11 j Chuailgnc, was in MS. xxxii.
now amissing. And MS. xl., of which Dr Kuno Meyer has given
a detailed account in Vol. XII. of the Celtic Magazine, preserves
better versions of several characters and incidents of the Cuchullin
epoch than any found in the larger and fuller Irish MSS.

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS. 303

Of two at least of the three classical Gaelic tragedies — The
three Sorrows of Story telling, as they are technically called — our
Scottish Collection has preserved the oldest, and presumably the
best, copies. These tragedies are — the Aided, or "Death by
Violence," of the Children of Tuirenn ; the Aided of the Children
of Lir ; and the Aided of the Children of Uisneach. The two
first belong to the Mythological period ; the last to the Cuchullin
period. The Children of Tuirenn kill Cian, the father of Lagha
Lamhfhada, and the son imposes upon them as eric nine tasks or
labours which they successfully accomplish, but from the effects
of which they die. The tale is in MS. Ivi. of our collection. The
main incidents, apart from the labours of the Children of Tuirenn,
are concerned with the wars of the Tuatha De and the Fomori,
who, according to the tale, dwelt at the time in Lochlann. In the
opening pages, we are told that Nuada, King of the Tuatha De,
had only one hand, and his doorkeeper only one eye. Two famous
doctors came the way of the palace, and they fitted the king with
a silver hand, whence he is known, not as Nuada Lamh Airgid, as
we should say, but as Nuada Airgiod-lamh. The name sur-
vives in Maynooth, the Magh or " plain" of Nuada. Into the door-
keeper's head the doctors put a cat's eye, and the author, with
delicious humour, tells of the poor doorkeeper's troubles with his
new organ : — When everything was quiet, and the porter needed
sleep, the cat's eye was wide awake, starting " at the squeaking of
the mice, the flying of the birds, and the motion of tne reeds ; "
when the doorkeeper was marshalling a pageant, and required all
his wits about him, at such times the cat's eye " would be iti deep
repose and sleep." Ireland was the nightmare of politicians then
as now. In our own day, a statesman suggested the removing of the
island 1000 miles out into the Atlantic as a solution of the Irish
problem. John Bright's remedy was but an echo of that of the
King of the Fomori, Balar of the Mighty Blows. Balar charged
his son Breas, after he had conquered the Tuatha De, " to put his
cables round Erin, which gives so much trouble, and tie it to the
stern of his ships, and tow it to the North of Lochlann," evidently
hoping that the transfer of the Green Isle to the North Pole
would remove all difficulties.

The Aided Cloinne Lir is found in our MSS. xxxviii. and Ivi.
The Children of Lir, three sons and a daughter, were, through the
jealousy of their stepmother, changed into swans, and doomed to
pass 300 years on Loch Dairbhreach, 300 in Sruth na Maoile,
as the wild belt of sea between Kintyre and Antrim was
appropriately named, and 300 in the Western Sea round Glora

304 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Isle, their spells to be broken when they would hear the voice of
the Christian bell. Their human reason and Gaelic speech
remained to the wanderers, and so the Lady Fingola, who occupies
the leading place in the tale, describes with spirit, in one of her
many laoidhs, the discomforts of life on a winter night off the
Mull of Kintyre : —

Olc a' bheatha-sa ;
Fuachd na h-oidhche-sa;
Meud an t-sneachda-sa ;
Cruas na gaoithe-sa.

Do chuir leas-mhathair,
Sinn an ceathrar-sa ;
A nochd 's an dochar-sa,
Olc a' bheatha-sa.

The tragedy of the children of Uisneach is the most popular
and best known of these tales. Copies of the shorter version are
found in the old Irish MSS. But the oldest copy of the expanded
version is found in our MSS. liii. and Ivi. Deirdre was a child of
surpassing beauty, reared in seclusion by King Conchobar Mac-
Nessa, with the view eventually of marrying her. Meanwhile the
young lady causes Naoise, son of Uisneach, to elope with her.
With a large retinue the pair, to avoid the vengeance of Conchobar,
pass over to Alba, and spend happy days on the shores of Loch
Etive. They are induced to return to Ireland, their safe-conduct
being guaranteed by Fergus MacRoich, a champion of honour who
comes to Alba for them. The lady has her suspicions, and on
leaving Alba she sing the well-known laoidh —

Inmain tir an tir ut thoir
Alba con a h-ingantaibh
Nocha ticfuinn eisdi ille,
Mana tisainn le Naise.

On their arrival in Ireland, Fergus is by stratagem detached from
the party. Naoise and his brothers are treacherously put to death,
and the lady commits suicide. On the cover of MS. liii. (the
Glenmasan MS.) is the date 1238. The existing MS. is assigned
on linguistic grounds by Whitley Stokes (who has printed this tale,
Irische Texte, Leipzig, 1887) to the fifteenth century, but it may
well be a copy of a MS. of the earlier date, the transcriber altering
the orthography and grammatical flexions to the standard of his

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS.

305

o\vn day. This MS. at present consists of twenty-five leaves of
large quarto, closely written upon. There are two breaks, the
extent of" which we know not. The tale of the sons of Uisneach
occupies only four of these leaves, the remainder being taken up
with the exploits and intrigues of the champion Fergus M'Roich
after the murder of Naoise and his companions and before the Tain
BJ Chuailgne opens. Notwithstanding the blanks this portion of
the MS. is extremely valuable, for the preserved Irish literature
hardly touches the subject.

Fergus, angry because of the treachery of one of his sons, Euinnt
JBorb Ruadh, who had joined the party of Conchobar; the death of
another, lollann Fionn ; and, more than all, because his own guar-
antee of safe-conduct to the sons of Uisneach was not respected,
heads a party against the king, commits great devastation, and
thereafter with several companions,, including Cormac Conloinges,
son of Conchobar, retires in dudgeon to Crimchan, the capital of
Connaught, where Queen Meave, a woman of great talent but easy
virtue, rules both her husband and her kingdom. Meave cordially
receives the exiler?. But the volatile Fergus soon tires of the life
of inglorious ease he leads at Cruachan. He hears much of the
beauty of Flidais, the wife of a petty prince in lorrus Domnann
" Erris," and the gifted Lothario, bent on fresh conquests, resolves
to proceed to the wild west. In his train at the time was an
o'lamh of great talent, named in our manuscript Bricne, son of
Cairpre, a man whose capacity for making mischief must surely
identify him with Bricriu Nemthenga or " poisoned tongue," the
Ultonian satirist who at his famous feast, the Fled Bricrend, set
the ladies of Ulster so violently by the ears. (The Fled Bricrend
is printed in Windisch <fe Stokes's Irische Texte, Leipzig, 1884.)
Bricne went in advance of Fergus to trumpet the praises of his
patron, and specially to interest Queen Flidais in his fortunes.
When the great poet is seen on the plain of Dun-atha-fein, the
youth of the place go forth to meet him, and they carry him
shoulder high to the presence of Oilill Fionn or the " Fair," son
•of Domnall Dual-buidhe king of the Gamanraid. A great feast is
given in Bricne's honour. The guests are seated according to
their rank, Bricne occupying the place of honour, " at the king's
shoulder." The choicest in foods and drinks that the castle
affords is produced on the occasion. There is white wine for the
nobles ; light mead for the old gentry ; brogoid which Cormac
derives from the Welsh, a variant of the Gaulish brace and our
braick malt, "bragget" a drink made from malt and honey, for the
landlords ; and cuirm (Welsh cwrw} " ale" for all and sundry

20

306 Gaelic Society of Inuerness.

The feasting over, song and story go round. Bricne is asked
whether he will be good enough to COL tribute anything to the
entertainment, a duan or airchetal or ealadha. The poet calls for
his nine-stringed harp with its uaithni made of gold, and singsr
the cliar accompanying, a song which he made ar cepoig to the
prince. (O'Curry explains that cepog was the technical term used in
Alba for what the Irish called aiobsi "great chorus or vocal
concert.") In Sutherland ceapag is (or was until recently) the term
for " a catch," a verse composed impromptu (cf. Rob Donn Ed. 1829
p. 344.) The Gamanraid applaud ; they never heard a better duan.
It had only one fault ; they were not able to understand a word of
it. Whereupon Bricne is good enough to expound the verses for
them, clause by clause. In conversation with the prince, Bricne
says he never lived in better quarters — the castle needed only a
queen to make it perfect. He is told that Queen Flidais is
temporarily absent, being at the time looking after the Maol
Flidais, a wonderful cow that yielded at one milking sufficient for
300 men, besides women and children. Bricne is invited to visit
the Queen, and here the festivities of Dun-atha-fein are repeated.
The poet is popular to a degree ; but he so manages matters that
wherever he goes, no two men however friendly previously but are
deadly enemies thereafter. Flidais asks what sort of man this
champion Fergus is of whom she has heard so much. " Vain to
ask such a question ;" says Bricne, " for though I had seven heads,
and in each head there were seven mouths, and in each mouth
seven tongues, and on each tongue the eloquence of a suadh, I
would be unable to speak of the man aright. Among the heroes
of the earth there is none to compare with him. Nor have I ever
heard of any except Lugh Lamhfhada or ' Longhand ' (the famous
king of the Tuatha De), and Hercules the son of Amphitryon the
hero warrior of the Greeks, and Hector, son of Priam the hero*
warrior of the Trojans ; and I give my word that Fergus is-
superior to these heroes in courage, in valour, in sense, in nobility,.
in spirit, in generosity ; and besides there is no king on earth
whose gifts to his household at each samhain are so rich as his."
The poet then expatiates in detail on the magnificence and
generosity of Fergus. Bricne shortly thereafter is able to return
to his patron at Cruachan, loaded with gifts from Oil-ill Fionn^
and bringing a secret message from Flidais that she is prepared to-
follow the fortunes ot Fergus, and to contribute men and treasure
for the approaching war between Connaught and Ulster.

Fergus now goes to the west in person, and the remainder of
the saga is taken up with his intrigues and adventures among the

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS.

307

Gamanraid, as the inhabitants of that remote part of the country
are called in the MS. The champion gets imprisoned, and now
Queen Meave fits out an expedition partly to rescue her fickle
lover, partly to induce the king of the Gamanraid to join her in
the great campaign against Ulster about to open. The Tain Bo
Flidais printed by Professor Windisch three years ago from the
Book of the Dun Cow, the Book of Leinster, and the Egerton MS.
is but a mere episode or remscel of the great epic the Tctin Bo
Chuailgne. In our MS. the subject is expanded into an
independent saga, containing a full complement of feasting and
fighting, " moving accidents by flood and field," valuable descript-
ions of men and manners, and thus forming an important addition
to our stock of Gaelic literature.

The contents of this valuable collection of Gaelic Literature
are as 3 et but imperfectly known even to scholars. Too few of the
MSS. have been read, and still fewer printed. A good catalogue
is much needed. The first to attempt a description of any of the
manuscripts was Dr Donald Smith, a very competent man. The
collection at the time consisted of the MSS. now catalogued xxxii.
to Ixv., those, viz., that belonged to the Highland Society. MSS.
i.-iv., the property of the Faculty of Advocates, and MSS. v.-xxxi.
from the Kilbride collection were not at the time available. Dr
Smith gave an account of nine MSS., viz. — xxxii., xxxiii., xxxiv.,
xxxv., xxxvi., xxxvii., xl., xlvi., and liii., with extracts (Report on
Ossian, Appendix pp. 285-312). The Rev. Donald Mackintosh,
collector of the Proverbs, prepared the carefully written catalogues
appended to the great 1807 edition of Ossian (iii. pp. 566-573),
and made copious transcripts from MSS. xxxiv. and xxxvi. which
are preserved. Mr Mackintosh died in 1808, and about 1812 the
Highland Society commissioned Mr Ewen Maclachlan of Aberdeen
to examine the more important of the Gaelic MSS. in their
possession. Mr Maclachlan in a volume which has been preserved
made a careful and full analysis of 14 MSS., 6 of those formerly
described by Dr Smith and 8 others, viz., those now catalogued
xxxii., xxxiii., xxxvii., xxxviii., xl., xli., xlvi., liii., liv., lv., Ivi., Iviii.,
Ixii., and Ixv. Mr Maclachlan made besides very voluminous
transcripts which he intended, when the time and opportunity
which never came permitted, to publish with translations. Of
MS. xxxvii. (the Dean of Lismore's) he has left two transcripts^
In a volume which he designated the Leabhar Gaol there is a?
transcript of the whole of MSS. xlvi. and liii. ; of all the tales in*
xxxviii. ; of the tale of the Son of Uisneach from Ivi. ; with copious

308 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

extracts from xl., liv., lv., Ixii., and Ixv. There were no Grammars
or Dictionaries of the old language at the time, and so Mr Mac-
lachlan was unable at all times correctly to extend the con-
tractions of the older MSS. (xl., xlvi., and liii., e.g.), but the
work which the indefatigable scholar did, though now apt to be
forgotten, was most valuable and important.

Mr Skene in addition to preparing a general catalogue of the
whole collection and making some transcripts, has printed
the greater part of the Genealogies on the first folio of
MS. i. (Collectanea de rebus Albanicis, Celtic Scotland iii.
p. 467), and a considerable portion of MS. 1. (Celtic Scot-
land iii. p. 398). Dr Maclauchlan and Mr Skene printed the
greater part of the contents of MS. xxxvii. (Book of the Dean of
Lismore : Edinburgh, 1862), and the former scholar gave in Celtic
Gleanings (Edinburgh, 1857) brief notices of two or three other
MSS. e.g. iv., viii., xxv., and the Edinburgh University Medical
MS. Mr Campbell in Leabhar na Feinne gave nearly all the
versions of Ossianic Ballads that he could lay his hands upon from
the Dean of Lismore downwards. Within the last twenty years
we have diligently cultivated " Ossianic " literature. The
late Mr Macpherson revised the " Ossianic " portion of
the Dean's Book. Dr Cameron made a fresh transcript of a
large part of the published portion of the Dean's MS., and of
the Ballads printed in Leabhar na Feimie, with others that escaped
Mr Campbell's collaborateurs. The collection of ballads by the
late Mr Macdonald of Ferintosh was printed by Dr Cameron in
vol. xiii. of the Transactions of the Society, while the collection by
Jerome Stone, made about the middle of last century, was sent by
me to the Society two years ago, and printed in vol. xiv. of the
Transactions.

The first scholar furth of Scotland who took notice of the
Scottish collection of Gaelic MSS. was the Very Rev. Dr Graves,
Bishop of Limerick, who published a note regarding MS. xlvi. and
one or two others in the fourth volume of the proceedings of the
Royal Irish Academy. Of recent years Mons. Henri Gaidoz wrote
a brief but very accurate note regarding the collection in the
Revue Celtique (Tom. vi., 109-114); Dr Kuno Meyer of Liverpool
has read several MSS., and in particular has described MS. xl. in
the Celtic Magazine (vol. xii.) ; while Mr Whitley Stokes has
printed the Tale of the Sons of Uisneach from MS. liii. and Ivi.
(Leipzig 1887), and transcribed with a view to publication MS. xv.
(the Destruction of Troy), and the Mesca Ulad or Intoxication of
the Ultarians from MS. xl.

Scottish Collection of Gaelic MSS. 309

Still, not merely several important MSS., but large sections of
the literature embraced in this collection have hitherto been
totally neglected. Beyond what I have been able to do myself, I
am not aware that a single one of the medical MSS. has been read
through. The same may be said regarding the religious section,
and several historical MS. of value, such as MSS. i., v., xxv., xxvi.
and others. And still more is the statement true regarding the
antiquarian, grammatical, and philological treatises found in such
MSS. i., vii., xxxviii., Iviii.

MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY.

HONORARY CHIEFTAINS.

Sir Kenneth S. Mackenzie of Gairloch, Bart.

Professor John Stuart Blackie, Edinburgh University

Charles Fraser-Mackintosh of Drummond, M.P.

Colin Chisholm Namur Cottage, Inverness

Alex. Nicolson, M.A., LL.D., advocate, sheriff-substitute, Greenock

LIFE MEMBERS.

Baillie, James E. B., of Dochfour

Bankes, P. Liot, of Letterewe

Burgess, Peter, factor for Glenmoriston, Drumnadrochit

Campbell, Alasdair, of Kilmartin, Glen-Urquhart

Chisholm of Chisholm, 33 Tavistock Square, London

Ferguson, R. C. Munro, of Novar

Fletcher, Fitzroy C., Letham Grange, Arbroath

Fletcher, J. Douglas, of Rosehaugh

Finlay, R. B., Q.C., M.P., London

Fraser-Mackintosh, Charles, of Drummond, M.P.

Fraser, Donald, of Millburn, Inverness

Jackson, Major Randle, of Swordale, Evanton

Macdonald, Lachlan, of Skaebost, Skye

Macfarlane, D. H., 46 Portman Square, London

Mackay, Donald, Gampola, Kandy, Ceylon

Mackay, George F., Roxburgh, Otago, New Zealand

Mackay, James, Roxburgh, Otago, New Zealand

Mackay, John, C.E., Hereford

Mackay, John, of Ben Reay

Mackenzie, Sir Kenneth S., of Gairloch, Bart.

Mackenzie, Sir Allan R., of Kintail, Bart.

Mackenzie, W. D., of Farr, Inverness

Mathe&on, Sir Kenneth, of Lochalsh, Bart.

Scobie, Captain N., late of Fearn, Ross-shire

312 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

HONORARY MEMBERS.

Beith, Gilbert, 7 Royal Bank Place, Glasgow

Bell, W. J., LL.D., of Scatwell

Blair, Sheriff, Inverness

Brown, J. A. Harvie, Dunipace, Larbert

Burgess, Alexander, Caledonian Bank, Gairloch

Cameron, Allan, 22 Elmwood Avenue, Belfast

Cameron, Ewen, manager of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank-
ing Company, at Shanghai

Cameron, James Randal, Jacksonville, Oregon

Cameron, Sir Charles, President of the Royal College of Surgeons,
Dublin

Campbell, Duncan, editor, " Northern Chronicle," Inverness

Campbell, George Murray, Jamaica

Chisholm, Captain A. Macra, Glassburn, Strathglass

Chisholm, Roderick Gooden, 33 Tavistock Square, London

Davidson, Sheriff, of Drummond Park, Inverness

Dunmore, the Right Hon. the Earl of, Rodel Castle, Harris

Fraser, Alexander, agent for the Commercial Bank of Scotland,
Inverness

Fraser, A. T. F., clothier, Church Street, Inverness

Grant, Brigade-Surgeon Alex., Reay House, Inverness

Grant, Hugh, 17 Douglas Row, Inverness

Grant, Ian Macphersou, yr. of Ballindalloch

Grant, John, jun., Oakbank, Glen-Urquhart

Grant, Field-Marshal Sir Patrick, G.C.B., Chelsea, London

Grant, Robert, of Messrs Macdougall & Co., Inverness

Innes, Charles, solicitor, Inverness

Jolly, William, H.M. Inspector of Schools, Pollockshields, Glasgow

Lord Kyllachy, The Hon , Edinburgh

Macandrew, Sir H. C., sheriff-clerk of Inverness-shire

Macallister Councillor T. S., Inverness

Macbean, William, Imperial Hotel, Inverness

Macdonald, Allan, solicitor, Inverness

Macdonald, Andrew, solicitor, Inverness

Macdonald, Captain D. P., Ben-Nevis Distillery, Fort- William

Macdonell, ^Eneas, of Morar, 21 Rutland Square, Edinburgh

Macfarlane, Alex., Caledonian Hotel, Inverness

Mackenzie, P. A. C., Rio de Janeiro

Mackenzie, Rev. A. D., Free Church, Kilmorack

Mackenzie, Mackay D., National Provincial Bank, Gateshead-on
Tyne

Members. 313

Mackintosh of Mackintosh, Moyhall

Mackintosh, Angus, of Holme, Palace Chambers, 9 Bridge Street,

Westminster

Mackintosh, Eneas W., of Raigmore
Mackintosh, Miss Amy B., of Dalmunzie
Mackintosh, P. A., C.E., Bury, Lancashire
Macleod, Rev. Dr Norman, Westwood, Inverness
Macmillan, E. H., manager of the Caledonian Bank, Inverness
Macphail, I. R., advocate, Edinburgh
Macpherson, Colonel Ewen, of Cluny
Macpherson, Charles J. B., of Bellville, Kingussie
Macpherson, Colonel, of Glentruim, Kingussie
Macpherson, George, Scottish Widows' Fund, St Andrew's Square,

Edinburgh

Moir, Dr F. F. M., Aberdeen

Robertson, John L., H.M. Inspector of Schools, Inverness
Rose, Major, of Kilravock
Scott, Roderick, solicitor, Inverness
Shaw, A. Mackintosh, Secretary's Office, G.P.O., London
Stewart, Col. Charles, E.C.B., C.M.G., C.I.E., 51 Redcliff Square,

South Kensirgton, S.W.

Tweedmouth, The Right Honourable Lord, Guisachan House
Watson, Rev. D., D.D., Beaverton, Ontario, Canada

ORDINARY MEMBERS.

Aitken, Dr Thomas, Lunatic Asylum, Inverness

Aitken, Hugh, 27 Dickson Avenue, Crossbill, Glasgow

Bannerman, Hugh, 275 Lord Street, Southport

Barren, James, editor, " Inverness Courier," Inverness

Baxter, Frederick, seedsman, Inverness

Beaton, Angus J., C.E., London & North Western Railway, Bangor

Bentick, Rev. Chas. D., E.G. Manse, Kirkhill, Inverness

Birkbeck, Robert, '20 Berkeley Square, London

Bisset, Rev. Alexander, R.C., Stratherrick

Black, F. A., solicitor, Inverness

Black, G. F., National Antiquarian Museum, Edinburgh

Black, John, Palace Hotel, Inverness

Boyd, Thomas, bookseller, Oban

Brodie, J. P., Glenalbyn Hotel, Inverness

Buchanan, F. C., Clarinnish, Row, Helensburgh

Cameron, A. H. F., 12 Shield Road, Liverpool

Cameron, Colin, ironmonger, High Street, Inverness

314

Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Cameron, Ewen, writer, Edinburgh

Cameron, D. M., wholesale grocer, Dempster Gardens

Cameron, Donald, of Lochiel, Achnacarry House, Fort-William

Cameron, D., teacher, Blairour, Aonachan, Lochaber

Cameron, John, S.S.C., 40 Castle Street, Edinburgh

Cameron, John, bookseller, Union Street, Inverness

Cameron, Miss M. E., of Innseagan, Fort- William

Cameron, Paul, Blair- Athole

Cameron, Rev. Alex., Sleat, Skye

Cameron, Rev. John, Beauly

Cameron, Rev. William, minister of Poolewe

Campbell, Fraser (of Fraser & Campbell), High Street, Inverness

Campbell, George J., solicitor, Inverness

Campbell, James, builder, Ardross Place, Inverness

Campbell, The Rev. John, Kilmore Manse, Glen-Urquhart

Campbell, James Lennox, 5 Victoria Place, Broughty Ferry

Campbell, John, jun., inspector of poor, Kingussie

Campbell, Paul, shoemaker, Castle Street, Inverness

Campbell, T. D. (of Gumming & Campbell), Inverness

Cesari, E., Station Hotel, Inverness

Chisholm, C. C., 65 Kilbowie Road, Clydebank, Dumbarton

Chisholm, D. H., 21 Castle Street, Inverness

Chisholm, Duncan, coal merchant, Inverness

Chisholm, Archibald, P.F., Lochmaddy

Chisholm, Colin, Namur Cottage, Inverness

Cockburn, Thomas, Royal Academy, Inverness

Cook, James, commission agent, Inverness

Cook, John, commission agent, 21 Southside Road, Inverness

Gran, John, Kirkton, Bunchrew

Davidson, D., Waverley Hotel, Inverness

Davidson, John, grocer, Inglis Street, Inverness

Davidson, William, Ruthven, Stratherrick

Dewar, Daniel, Beaufort

Dick, Mrs, Greenhill, Lower Drummoni

Donaldson, Simon F., librarian, Free Library, Inverness

Fergusson, Charles, The Gardens, Gaily, Gatehouse, Kirkcubright-

shire

Fergusson, D. H., pipe-major, I.H.R.V., Inverness
Finlayson, Dr, Munlochy

Finlayson, John, rector, Farraline Institution, Inverness
Finlayson, John, commercial traveller, Hillside Villa, Inverness
Forbes, Duncan, of Culloden
Forsyth, John H., wine merchant, Inverness

Members. 315

Fraser, ^Eneas (Innes & Mackay), Inverness

Fraser, Alexander, Schoolhouse, Kingussie

Fraser, Alex., draper, 15 Church Street

Fraser, Alexander, solicitor, Inverness

Fraser, A. R., South Africa

Fraser, Miss Catherine, 25 Academy Street, Inverness

Fraser, D. Munro, H.M. Inspector of Schools, Glasgow

Fraser, Hugh, Armadale Cottage, Greig Street, Inverness

Fraser, Hugh E., Commercial Bank House, Inverness

Fraser, Henry W., Commercial Bank House, Inverness

Fraser, James, C.E., Inverness

Fraser, James, Mauld, Strath glass

Fraser, John, draper, 80 High Street, Nairn

Fraser, Miss Hannah G., Farraline Villa, North Berwick

Fraser, Miss Mary, 2 Ness Walk, Inverness

Fraser, Roderick, contractor, Argyle Street, Inverness

Fraser, William, School Board officer, 52 Tomnahurich Street

Galloway, George, chemist, Inverness

Gillanders, K. A., Drumuiond Street, Inverness

Gillanders, John, teacher, Denny

Gillies, William, 16 Mountgrove Road, Highbury, London, W.

Glass, C. C., 12'2 North Street, St Andrews

Gow, James Mackintosh, F.S.A. Scot., Union Bank, Hunter's

Square, Edinburgh

Grant, George Macpherson, The Castle, BallindrJloch
Grant, Rev. J., E.G. Manse, Kilmuir, Skye
Grant, Dr Ogilvie, Inverness
Grant, Rev. Donald, Dornoch
Grant, J. M., of Glenmoriston

Grant, J. B., factor and commissioner for The Chisholm, Erchless
Grant. F. W., Maryhill, Inverness

Grant, William, Secretary, Sun Fire Office, Manchester
Gray, James, slater, Friar's Street, Inverness
Gunn, Rev. Adam, Durness, Lairg.
Gunn, John, F.R.P.S., F.R.S.G.S., The Geographical Institute, Park

Road, Edinburgh

Gunn, William, draper, Castle Street, Inverness
Henderson, John, factor for Rosehaugh, Fortrose
Holt, John B., Abbey School, Fort- Augustus
Hood, John, Standard Insurance Company, Edinburgh
Hood, Thomas, chemist, 11 Broad Street, Bristol
Home, John, Teviot Cottage, Southside Road, Inverness
Jameson, Walter, Glenarm, Co. Antrim, Ireland

316 Gaelic Society of Inverness.

Jerram, C. S., Preyot House, Petworth

Kemp, D. William, Ivy, Lodge, Trinity, Edinburgh

Kenard, Cecil, Sconser Lodge, Skye

Kennedy, Neil, Millburn, Inverness

Kennedy, Rev. John, Cattacoil, Arran

Kerr, Dr, Inverness

Kerr, Cathel, Free Church College, Aberdeen

Kerr, Thomas, Caledonian Bank, Inverness

Lindsay, W. M., Jesns College, Oxford

Livingston, Colin, Fort-William

Lyon, Bailie, Aberdeen

Macaulay, A. N., Cumberland Street, Edinburgh

Macbain, Alexander, M.A., F.S.A. Scot., head-master, Raining' s

School, Inverness

Macbean, William, 35 Union Street
Macbean, George, writer, Queensgate, Inverness
Macbean, James, 77 Church Street, Inverness
Macbean, Lachlan, editor, "Fifeshire Advertiser," Kirkcaldy
Macbeth, R. J., Queensgate, Inverness
Maccallum, Dr C. H. D., Elm Lodge, Anstruther
Maccallum, Henry V., Ardross Street, Inverness
Maccallum, John, builder, Fort-William
Maccormick, Rev. J. H. J., F.S.A., Scot., St George's, Derby
Maccowan, Rev. J., Cromdale

Macdonald, Alex., Audit Office, Highland Railway, Inverness
Macdonald, Alex., Station Hotel, Forres
Macdonald, Alexander, 62 Tomnahurich Street, Inverness
Macdonald, Charles, Knocknageal, by Inverness
Macdonald, Rev. Charles, Mingarry, Loch Shiel, Salen
Macdonald, David, St Andrew's Street, Aberdeen
Macdonald, D., Inland Revenue officer, Lochmaddy
Macdonald, Dr D., Gorthleck, Stratherrick
Macdonald, Dr G. G., Church Street, Inverness
Macdonald, Councillor